Offense a priority this spring for ACC’s Atlantic Division

RALEIGH, N.C. — Some teams in the ACC’s Atlantic Division kept their offenses humming this spring.

Others simply tried to get them started.

There was little middle ground last season in the Atlantic Division, which had three of the league’s best offenses last season along with three of its worst.

No surprise, then, that in the teams’ end-of-spring scrimmages, there were a wide range of offensive showings — from Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson’s 519-yard, eight-touchdown bonanza, to Boston College’s spring game ending with a 6-2 score.

For North Carolina State and Florida State — which ended last season ranked third and fourth in the league in scoring — the goal was to maintain that offensive production with some new faces.

And then there’s Clemson. The Tigers’ offense looked like it hadn’t missed a beat — despite not having injured receivers Mike Williams or Deon Cain — with 2015 Heisman Trophy finalist Deshaun Watson taking snaps in the spring for the first, and maybe only, time in his college career.

“I don’t really have ... a major concern,” coach Dabo Swinney said. “I just think that we’ve got a lot of work to do, and we need that commitment this summer. I mean, I think championships are won when people aren’t looking. Championships are won when the stands are empty.”

At the other end of the spectrum, BC, Wake Forest and Syracuse had plenty of room for growth.

The Eagles ranked 126th in the nation last year in total offense and 121st in scoring. Wake Forest wasn’t much better at 114th in total yardage and 120th in scoring in Dave Clawson’s second season.

BOSTON COLLEGE

The Eagles brought in Scot Loeffler, who coordinated offenses at Virginia Tech, Auburn and Temple, to run an offense that averaged just 275 yards and 17 points last season.

CLEMSON

Swinney said Mike Williams — who suffered a season-ending neck injury while scoring a touchdown on the first series last year — went through skeleton drills this spring while working on his timing with Watson.

FLORIDA STATE

The Seminoles groomed their eventual replacements for Maguire, with redshirt freshman Deondre Francois and freshman Malik Henry showing promise.

LOUISVILLE

Coach Bobby Petrino said Jackson, a dual-threat QB who rushed for 186 or more yards in each of the last two games last season, showed improvement in his decision-making and in his throwing accuracy.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE

The Wolfpack wanted to grasp the fundamentals of Drinkwitz’s offense. Drinkwitz came from Boise State to replace the fired Matt Canada. Jalan McClendon and Jakobi Meyers are competing to replace Jacoby Brissett at QB.

SYRACUSE

The Orange’s top priority was figuring out how Babers wants to play on both sides of the ball. He says he’s learned not to set unrealistic goals for new teams.

WAKE FOREST

After winning six total games in two years with minimally experienced players, the Demon Deacons are starting to grow up. They’ve got plenty to sort out between now and the opener at virtually every key position, including quarterback — where John Wolford and Kendall Hinton return.