The annual ACC Kickoff is here, as the fourteen league head football coaches and three players from each team will convene with the media at The Westin in downtown Charlotte on Wednesday and Thursday to essentially launch the 2021 college football season.

The Coastal Division will go Wednesday and the Atlantic Division will wrap up the two-day event Thursday.

While this is an annual event, it did not take place last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, there was uncertainty this time a year ago if a season would even happen. So, in most cases this will be the first time the media, players, and coaches have been in the same presence since early spring 2020, aside from the scribes covering games from press boxes.

North Carolina, however, allowed media in for three spring practices, but just to watch the Tar Heels. There were no face-to-face interviews. All avaialbility was on zoom.

UNC and quarterback Sam Howell will command plenty of attention this week. The Tar Heels are the likely media favorites to win the Coastal Division while Howell could be the ACC’s Preseason Player of the Year, and will certainly field questions about the Heisman Trophy, for which he is a serious contender. Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei is regarded as Howell's main competition for ACC honors this week and likely once the season starts.

The three Tar Heels joining head coach Mack Brown in Charlotte are Howell, super senior outside linebacker Tomon Fox, and senior middle linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel.

“We’re excited about those three guys having an opportunity to represent our university’s football program and talk about our team,” Brown during his July program update presser less earlier this month.

In addition to print and online media, the ACC Network will have a heavy representation as will ESPN, media from local television stations around the ACC region, as well as talk radio.

The coaches and players will field questions from print and online media during rather showy-but-brief press conferences in the main ballroom, and then they will be available in breakout rooms where media can gather around and ask a variety of questions. The coaches and players will also take part in various on-camera interviews for the networks, much of which fans will see throughout the course of the season during TV broadcasts. And, they will make the rounds on radio row.

New ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips will give his State of the ACC address to get things started Wednesday morning followed by the coaches and players interviews that will last until around 5 pm.

The ACC Network will televise both days and we will have full coverage here at THI.