Sports On Earth ranks the college QBs; Jacoby Brissett checks in at No. 18

Sports On Earth's Matt Brown offered his ranking of the top 25 FBS quarterbacks in the country; it's a list that includes a half dozen players from the ACC, including NC State's Jacoby Brissett. Brown places Brissett at No. 18, ahead of FSU's Everett Golson, but behind Marquise Williams, Brad Kaaya, Justin Thomas, and Deshaun Watson (who is No. 1).

NC State doesn't have a question mark at quarterback, obviously, but that doesn't mean we don't have some specifics to ponder. Like how much more consistently can Brissett perform in 2015? As Brown noted ...

After a mandated year on the bench upon transferring from Florida, Brissett flashed potential as starter, even if results were mixed. There were lows (4 of 18 for 35 yards in a 41-0 loss to Clemson), but he also threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns against Florida State and made some plays that few other quarterbacks are capable of athletically.

If State's going to put together a surprise run at the division this season, it's going to be driven by the degree of refinement in Brissett's game. Is he better about getting rid of the ball rather than holding onto it for too long? Is his accuracy beyond 15 yards improved? He's going to have a good season, but it's those types of things that will determine how good.

The other thing is how the staff plans to utilize him. In 2014, they were wary initially to get him too involved in running the ball because of injury concerns; toward the latter portion of the season, they eased up on that a bit, opening up the running game in the process. If the more aggressive bent is their approach from the first week, the offense becomes much more interesting.