The crowning of Clemson as national champion and the close of the 2016 season last week further strengthened the case the ACC was college football’s best conference. One of the reasons for its dominance over other Power 5 leagues was the lengthy list of talented players who had grown into stars over the course of their careers.

At the end of the season, nearly all of those stars elected to close out their college careers early after a strong 2016 and declare for the NFL draft, hitting the ACC hard.

It’s a positive sign that the ACC has 18 players who declared early for an opportunity to be drafted very high come spring, but the turnover is going to have a major impact on the league’s best teams in 2017.

Below are the five ACC teams that early departures will affect most next season.

Clemson: This time it’s the offense that will need to be remodeled, beginning at quarterback. While it has been known for some time that Deshaun Watson was going to leave after his junior season, it doesn’t make it any easier replacing the player who ended 2016 as the college game's best. Whoever Dabo Swinney tabs as Watson’s successor won’t have Artavis Scott or Mike Williams to throw the ball to, either. Running back Wayne Gallman is leaving early as well. The Tigers do have the No. 1 quarterback in the 2017 class enrolled early. Watson, who was the No. 1 quarterback in his class, was also a January enrollee and was the starter by October of his freshman season. Will the Tigers be able to duplicate that with Hunter Johnson (or 2018 No. 1 QB and Tigers commit Trevor Lawrence)?

Florida State: There was a possibility Dalvin Cook would be the only Seminole to declare early, but left tackle Roderick Johnson and receiver Travis Rudolph followed suit recently. While there is a lot of hype surrounding 2017 early enrollee Cam Akers, it will be no easy task replacing the most prolific running back in school history. Gone with Cook are his 2,253 scrimmage yards and ability to score from anywhere on the field. More responsibility falls on the right arm of Deondre Francois, who was solid as a redshirt freshman. Francois already took a lot of hits in his first year as starter, though, and now he’ll need a new blind-side protector. Rudolph was inconsistent in his three years, but he was a veteran leader.

Miami: A total of five former Miami players declared, but two did not play with the team in 2016. Running back Joe Yearby and David Njoku were solid contributors, but the real loss comes at quarterback. Brad Kaaya has started since his true freshman season, and he was the leader of the team. If the Hurricanes turn it around in the near future, much of the foundation will have been laid during Kaaya’s three seasons at Miami.

North Carolina: Larry Fedora is going to have to reshape an offense that is losing major pieces at every position, whether to graduation or to an early NFL bid. The biggest loss is quarterback Mitch Trubisky, whose one season as a starter was a strong enough audition for the NFL that he left after only 13 starts. Running back Elijah Hood originally said he would return, but he changed his mind two weeks later. And a defense that ranked 109th in rushing yards per game will no longer be able to rely on defensive tackle Nazair Jones up the middle.

Virginia Tech: Much like Trubisky, Hokies quarterback Jerod Evans felt one season as a starter was enough. Evans was up and down as a passer, but his dual-threat capabilities and 235-pound frame made him a difficult matchup for defenses. He was the Hokies’ leading passer and rusher, and joining him in the NFL will be Virginia Tech’s two best receivers. Isaiah Ford, whose two 1,000-yard seasons are the only two in school history, declared, as did receiver/tight end hybrid Bucky Hodges. If Justin Fuente can rebuild the offense and win 10 games for a second consecutive season, it might be a more impressive feat than when he did it this past fall.