CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) – Charlie Whitehurst helped restore Clemson’s reputation as a team to be reckoned with in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a scintillating end to last season.

The junior quarterback set pulses racing in Death Valley, completing 84 of 133 passes for 1,151 yards and eight touchdowns as the Tigers finished with consecutive wins over Florida State, Duke, South Carolina and Tennessee in the Peach Bowl.

Whitehurst shattered the school single-season record with 3,561 yards passing, his 21 TD passes tied another Clemson mark and the Tigers finished 9-4 and ranked 22nd in the country.

Even bigger things are expected of Whitehurst and the Tigers in 2004. Clemson is ranked No. 15 and Whitehurst is being talked about as a player who, with a few breaks, might just make a run at the Heisman Trophy.

“It’s exciting,” said the laid-back Georgian and son of former Green Bay Packers quarterback David Whitehurst.

By “it,” Whitehurst means competing in a bulked up ACC, which now includes Miami and Virginia Tech.

“It’s definitely going to be a challenge for us,” he said. “For us to win nine games again, we’re going to have to be a whole lot better team.”

Whitehurst won’t do it alone. But his 6-foot-4 size to look over defenders, knack for hanging in the pocket until the last possible moment and savvy for making on-target throws are a big reason the Tigers are in the preseason poll for first time in three years.

His coaches and his father don’t worry about Whitehurst’s head swelling with the attention.

“Charlie is a very levelheaded and probably as poised as any young man I have ever been around,” Clemson offensive coordinator Mike O’Cain said. “He will handle that very, very well.”

David Whitehurst said all his son wants is to win. “If we win football games, the other part for Charlie will take care of itself,” he said.

The younger Whitehurst will try to match – or surpass – his breakout 2003 season with a new set of starting receivers after the departure of Kevin Youngblood and Derrick Hamilton.

“It’s a question mark for sure,” Whitehurst said. “But I’m extremely excited about what they can do.”

Whitehurst knows about doubters. He had his a year ago. Sure, he’d won three of his five starts as a freshman in 2002 after replacing popular quarterback Willie Simmons. But he and the team were battered 55-15 by Texas Tech in the Tangerine Bowl that year.

Whitehurst felt he had much to prove, a thought he says lingered with him through Clemson’s 5-4 start to 2003. “Could I really do it? Was I really the right guy?” Whitehurst said he wondered at times last fall.

Things changed dramatically Nov. 8 when Whitehurst and the Tigers stung No. 3 Florida State, 26-10 – their first win over the Seminoles since 1989. Whitehurst steadily moved the club to a 13-0 halftime lead and finished with 272 yards passing.

“That was a big game for me,” Whitehurst said. “It kind of clicked for me then, when you figure out you’re not scared of these guys.”

Now, it’s Whitehurst’s turn to frighten the opposition – and maybe a few at Clemson worried he’ll bypass his senior year for the NFL. His father’s taken calls from interested agents should Charlie have another big season.

Even if Clemson loses some games, David Whitehurst doesn’t expect his son to lose belief in himself.

“That’s one reason he’s been as successful as he has been,” the elder Whitehurst said. “He can do it and is confident and is confident in making plays.”

AP-ES-08-25-04 1523EDT