The Clemson Tigers are a proud program that has had some excellent decades — see the 1980s — as well as some times of struggle (1992-2010). But this is a program with loads of potential, committed fans, a great gameday atmosphere and has tasted the top of the mountain once upon a time. Unlike many programs the Tigers have one team that stands above the rest.

Spring practice has finished for all 125 Football Bowl Subdivision teams for 2013. And with spring workouts over, the picture for the national championship battle is starting to come into focus.

The 2013 NFL Draft is in the books.

Some fans, in Minnesota and St. Louis for example, should be ecstatic about their new toys (Sharrif Floyd, Tavon Austin) while others, in Cleveland, Dallas or Oakland perhaps, might be wondering what just happened in New York. So while more than 250 bright-eyed and bushy-tailed prospects prepare for the long summer trek from being a draft pick to making an NFL roster, the next wave of college stars are already preparing themselves for the 2014 NFL Draft.

And so is Athlon Sports.

Running back is a position in transition in the ACC.

Miami’s Duke Johnson should contend for All-American honors, but there’s not much in the way of proven, all-conference options outside of the sophomore. Florida State’s James Wilder and Syracuse’s Jerome Smith rank as the next two players, but Virginia’s Kevin Parks and Clemson’s Roderick McDowell could have breakout seasons in 2013.

The ACC has an interesting mix of quarterbacks for 2013. Proven options like Clemson’s Tajh Boyd, North Carolina’s Bryn Renner, Virginia Tech’s Logan Thomas should be the conference’s top-three passers for all-conference honors. Miami’s Stephen Morris will have to adjust to a new coordinator to, but he could easily surpass last year’s numbers.

The college football season is still months away, but it’s never too early to start thinking about which assistants will be atop athletic director’s wish lists to fill open vacancies after 2013.

Coaching is one of the driving forces in building a national championship team or program. No matter how much talent a program has, it can’t win a national title if the coaching is questionable.

Considering how important coaches are to teams or even making preseason predictions, Athlon is taking a look at how each conference stacks up with its head coach rankings for 2013.

Heisman Trophy trends finally appear to be changing. Defensive players are getting invited to New York City with increased regularity as one player from that side of the ball has been a finalist in three of the last four seasons. The age stigma has fallen by the wayside as well with Tim Tebow and Johnny Manziel each winning the award in just their second seasons on campus.

With spring practice underway across college football, most of interest will focus on quarterback battles or incoming freshmen that enrolled early to get a jumpstart on making an impact for 2013.

With spring practice underway for many college football teams, the countdown to the 2013 season has officially started. With preseason predictions right around the corner, it’s never too early to start thinking about which players might be the next breakout stars.