JEREMIAH GEMMEL

He also knows it’s not that easy when working out against Heisman Trophy candidate Sam Howell, and he makes sure to pull aside frustrated defensive teammates to tell them so. Maybe not, but the challenges likely won’t get much easier on game days either considering the wealth of starting experience returning at quarterback throughout the Atlantic Coast Conference. Besides Howell, Miami star D’Eriq King is back for a sixth college season after suffering a serious knee injury in last year’s bowl game. Coach Mack Brown has already indicated this will likely be the quarterback’s final season before pursuing an NFL career. “I’d like to say I don’t think about it, but I see it, I hear about it all the time," Howell said of Heisman Trophy talk.

North Carolina's Sam Howell is a Heisman Trophy candidate and the headliner of the Atlantic Coast Conference's class of experienced returning quarterbacks.