No. 1. Tyrod Taylor, QB, Virginia Tech
2010 numbers:He led the ACC and was No. 13 in the nation in passing efficiency with 154.8, was fourth in the league in total offense at 243 yards per game, and fifth in passing average per game at 195.9. He completed 59.7 percent of his passes for 2,743 yards, 24 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He also ran for 659 yards and five touchdowns.
Previous ranking: No. 17
Making the case for Taylor:It should come as no surprise that the ACC's Player of the Year landed the No. 1 spot. Not only did he throw the fewest interceptions and gain more rushing yards than any quarterback in the ACC, he was also invaluable as the leader of the team that became the first to go undefeated in conference play since Florida State in 2000. Taylor led the Hokies to the ACC championship game and had one of his best performances of the season in the win over Florida State. His trademark scrambles will be missed this year and impossible to duplicate, and what made him special this year was his improvement in the passing game. Taylor set school records in 2010 for career total offense, career passing yards, career rushing yards by a quarterback, career wins by a starting quarterback, career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback and touchdown passes in a season. Virginia Tech was once again No. 1 in the ACC, and couldn't have done it without this No. 1.
The countdown:
No. 2 Da'Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson
No. 3 Rodney Hudson, OG, Florida State
No. 4 Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College
No. 5 Anthony Castonzo, OT, Boston College
No. 6 Russell Wilson, QB, NC State
No. 7 Jayron Hosley, CB, Virginia Tech
No. 8 Leonard Hankerson, WR, Miami
No. 9 Nate Irving, LB, NC State
No. 10 Greg Reid, CB, Florida State
No. 11 Torrey Smith, WR, Maryland
No. 12 Brandon Jenkins, DE, Florida State
No. 13 Quinton Coples, DT, North Carolina
No. 14 Kenny Tate, S, Maryland
No. 15 DeAndre McDaniel, S, Clemson
No. 16 Chase Minnifield, CB, Virginia
No. 17 Montel Harris, RB, Boston College
No. 18 T.J. Yates, QB, North Carolina
No. 19 Alex Wujciak, LB, Maryland
No. 20 Jarvis Jenkins, DT, Clemson
No. 21 Chris Hairston, OT, Clemson
No. 22 Anthony Allen, RB, Georgia Tech
No. 23 Brandon Washington, OL, Miami
No. 24 George Bryan, TE, NC State
No. 25 Conner Vernon, WR, Duke