All week, ACC reporters Andrea Adelson, David Hale and Jared Shanker will discuss the most pressing spring storylines for teams across the conference. Up first for debate: Which ACC team needs a big spring?

Andrea Adelson says: Louisville

Forget for a moment the three-game losing streak to close the season. Louisville finished 3 yards short of winning the ACC title. And that is why the Cards need a big spring. Without a doubt, they need to clean up the errors that plagued the end of their season, starting with the offensive line.

But let’s remember this is a team that returns Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson, who dazzled against Florida State and nearly single-handedly beat Clemson, too. This is a team that returns Jaylen Smith and Reggie Bonnafon and Traveon Samuel and Seth Dawkins and Devante Peete. This is a team that has an emerging standout at running back in Jeremy Smith. This is a team that could have the best secondary in the entire conference.

There are so many positives to build off from a year ago, it’s hard to see them all because the last few games looked so ugly, from missed assignments to turnovers. Louisville still has the capability of being a College Football Playoff sleeper team, the way it did a year ago. Jackson hasn’t forgotten how to play football. But Louisville needs a big spring out of him and the entire offense to truly be able to challenge Clemson and Florida State again and, this time, make it into the playoff.

David Hale says: Clemson

Yes, Clemson is coming off a national championship, and there’s not much that could happen this spring that would dim the enthusiasm from its fan base. But the next few weeks are actually critical to the Tigers’ quest to win another ACC title.

As Dabo Swinney noted last week, all but a handful of freshman are already on campus, meaning the team he’ll watch this spring will look an awful lot like the one he’ll have in the fall. This isn’t a time to work out growing pains. It’s a time to identify who’ll top the depth chart and where the biggest needs remain.

Moreover, there’s a ton of transition for Clemson this spring, as the Tigers try to find their next QB, build a backfield, replace three elite receivers and develop the leadership lost when Deshaun Watson and Ben Boulware departed. Those are all huge jobs.

And then, of course, there’s the impact that last year’s title might have on preparation. It’s been just two months since Clemson celebrated that win over Alabama, and trying to shift focus to 2017, to starting over and climbing that mountain again, is no easy task. This spring should go a long way toward determining just how focused Clemson’s remaining stars are on getting back to a national title game for the third straight season.

Jared Shanker says: Pittsburgh

Back-to-back 8-5 seasons in Pat Narduzzi’s first two years as a head coach indicate the Panthers are in good hands with the former Michigan State defensive coordinator. But Pitt was dreadful on defense a season ago, and if Narduzzi can fix up some of the deficiencies against the pass, the Panthers will be in position to win their first Coastal Division title.

The rest of the division is undergoing significant changes, and Pitt is doing its best to take advantage. It signed transfer Max Browne to deal with its own big change; Nathan Peterman and James Conner are off to the NFL. The spring provides a more relaxed atmosphere to educate and build foundational techniques without the pressure of an upcoming game, and if the coaches can use that to improve the defense, then the Panthers will be competitive in the division race again.