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The ACC’s annual media days — insistently called ACC Football Kickoff — will occur on July 17 and 18 at the Westin in Charlotte, N.C. We now know who will be in attendance at said event, according to a release from the conference.
Most importantly, the Syracuse Orange will be represented by quarterback Tommy DeVito and defensive end Kendall Coleman, along with coach Dino Babers. It will be both players’ first time participating in the event. While Coleman’s been a starter in some capacity for the past three seasons at SU, this is DeVito’s first season as the Orange’s primary signal-caller. He threw for 525 yards in relief of Eric Dungey last year. And if Syracuse is going to successfully follow up 2018’s 10-3 campaign, a lot of that relies on DeVito acclimating quickly to his new role.
In that regard, it’s smart to get the redshirt sophomore some extended time with press now, and get into all of the questions that will shape the narrative around both SU and him this season. Plus, it’s smart to build some hype around the program and DeVito — something Clemson didn’t do with Trevor Lawrence (a likely Heisman front-runner) at this event.
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As mentioned in the sub-header, this is the first time Syracuse will have two new attendees in a few years. Last year, Dungey made his second trip while Chris Slayton took his first. Zaire Franklin attended three years in a row from 2015-17 (a fact he was not excited about). That 2015 event (which also featured Terrel Hunt) was the last time the Orange sent two new players. Sean Hickey and Cam Lynch went in 2014.
Check out the full list of players here. DeVito is one of just two sophomores in attendance, along with Florida State wide receiver Tamorrion Terry, and also one of two New Jersey natives too (Pitt’s Maurice Ffrench is the other). Coleman is the only player from Indiana in attendance.
We’ll have plenty on the event in a couple weeks, including the “beloved” can-your-coach-buy-a-suit-that-fits power rankings. The event will stream on the ACC’s website both days. We assume it’ll be on ACC Network going forward, however.