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Tigers, QB Watson Headline ACC Picks

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Clemson and quarterback Deshaun Watson are the preseason picks for Atlantic Coast Conference favorite and player of the year.

The reigning champion Tigers were picked on 144 of 191 votes released Monday from media members attending last week’s league media days. Atlantic Division rival Florida State was second with 39 votes, while Coastal Division favorite North Carolina was picked on seven.

The Tigers are coming off a 14-1 season that included a win against UNC in the ACC championship game and a trip to the College Football Playoff title game, where Clemson lost to Alabama.

“We want to finish with no regrets,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said during the ACC Kickoff in Charlotte. “Even had we won the game, for us, we’re going to start over. We’re going to go back to the basics and try and reinstall our program, the core values of our program, get everybody on the same page with a common purpose and go grind. That’s just what we’re always going to do.”

The Tigers earned 148 first-place votes as the Atlantic favorite over FSU, which had 42 votes. They were followed by Louisville, North Carolina State, Boston College, Syracuse and Wake Forest.

The Tar Heels earned 121 first-place votes as the Coastal favorite as they come off an 11-win season. They lost to Clemson 45-37 in last year’s ACC championship game and are trying to become the first repeat Coastal champion since 2011 in a division with three new coaches.

Miami was picked second with 50 first-place votes, followed by Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, Duke, Georgia Tech and Virginia.

Watson earned 164 votes as player of the year, while FSU running back Dalvin Cook was second with 18.

FLORIDA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida defensive coordinator Geoff Collins has a chance to join elite company in college football this season.

Collins was given a $300,000 raise this year and has a chance to make $1 million annually. Only nine assistant coaches made $1 million in 2015, according to USA Today.

Responding to a public records request, the University Athletic Association released details of Collins’ new contract along with several of coach Jim McElwain’s other assistants.

Offensive line coach Mike Summers got a two-year extension and a raise to $498,500 annually. Summers is the lone holdover from former coach Will Muschamp’s staff in 2014. Summers’ original deal paid $200,000 annually, but only because he was still getting money from USC.

Summers also got a $39,000 signing bonus with his new deal.

Defensive line coach Chris Rumph received a one-year extension, keeping him under contract through 2017, and will earn $500,000 annually. That’s a raise of $85,000.

New defensive backs coach Torrian Gray signed a two-year deal worth $335,000 annually. Linebackers coach Randy Shannon received a slight pay increase, from $400,000 to $409,750.

Collins got the biggest bump.

The 45-year-old assistant originally signed a three-year deal worth $600,000 annually after leaving the same position at Mississippi State. Collins will now earn $890,000 in base salary. He also can earn an annual retention bonus of $150,000 if he remains at Florida.

In Collins’ first season in Gainesville, the Gators finished eighth in the nation in total defense.

In total, Florida is paying its assistants $4.23 million in 2016, up from $3.42 million in 2015. That’s a 23.7 percent pay increase.

McElwain’s contract also was released. The Gators gave McElwain a $750,000-a-year raise in March after winning the Southeastern Conference’s Eastern Division in his first season.

The school bumped McElwain from $3.5 million to $4.25 million annually, making him the highest-paid coach in the division. McElwain remains under contract through the 2020 season.

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