As many as 6 other starting QBs hail from Virginia

EJ Manuel isn't the only player from Virginia with a golden arm. There could be as many as six other BCS conference teams this fall whose starting quarterback is from the commonwealth - including half of the ACC:

Alabama

Phillip Sims, from Oscar Smith High, was rated the No. 2 player in the state and No. 2 pro-style QB in the country by Rivals.com in 2009. After setting state records with 10,725 passing yards and 119 touchdowns, then redshirting last fall in Tuscaloosa, Sims spent this spring battling A.J. McCarron to a draw in the QB competition. Sims was 58 of 102 (56.9 percent) for 686 yards, 5 TDs and 4 INTs in three spring scrimmages.

Clemson

Tajh Boyd, from Phoebus High, was rated the No. 4 dual-threat QB in the country in 2009. He finished spring practice atop the depth chart after completing 23 of 52 passes for 347 yards, 5 TDs and 2 INTs, and rushing 25 times for 93 yards and 2 TDs in three scrimmages. “Boyd is clearly the starter,” Tigers coach Dabo Swinney told reporters. “But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have to perform” in August camp.

North Carolina

Bryn Renner, from West Springfield, was rated the No. 5 pro-style QB in the country in 2009. He threw only two passes as a backup for the Tar Heels last season. In this year’s spring game, he was 9 of 13 for 123 yards and a TD. Afterward, coach Butch Davis told reporters that Renner “showed a little bit today some of the things that excite us.”

N.C. State

Mike Glennon, from Centerville High, was rated the No. 3 pro-style QB in the country in 2008. He has completed 33 of 52 passes for 326 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs in two seasons backing up Russell Wilson, who is playing pro baseball this spring and unlikely to return to football. Coach Tom O’Brien said Wilson would be a backup even if he comes back. O’Brien, who has coached Matt Ryan and the Hasselbeck brothers, said Glennon is “as talented as any quarterback I’ve had,” despite pedestrian spring scrimmage numbers: 45 of 81 (55.6 percent), 413 yards, 0 TDs, 4 INTs.

Virginia

Mike Rocco, from Lynchburg, and Ross Metheny, from Stephens City, appear to be the frontrunners in a battle that will extend into August practice. Rocco, who completed 17 of 32 passes (53.1 percent) for 152 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT in the spring game, was not ranked among the top 30 players in the state in 2010. Metheny, who completed 3 of 6 passes for 60 yards, 0 TDs and 1 INT in the spring game, was rated the No. 24 pro-style QB in the country in 2009. David Watford, a true freshman from Hampton, could be a wildcard in the fall. He was rated the No. 29 dual-threat QB in the country this year.

Virginia Tech

Logan Thomas, from Lynchburg, was rated the No. 4 player in the state and the No. 1 tight end/jumbo athlete in the country in 2009. The 6-foot-6, 245-pounder, who played QB his final two years of high school but was initially recruited to catch passes, completed 12 of 26 for 107 yards, no TDs and no INTs last season as Tyrod Taylor’s backup. He’s been far more impressive this spring as the new starter. Entering Saturday’s spring game, he had completed 40 of 70 passes (57.1 percent) for 612 yards, 4 TDs and 1 INT in scrimmages.