PINEHURST, N.C. — Before the 2014 season started, Syracuse cornerback Julian Whigham professed that he hoped to be the best cornerback in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Coming into the 2015 season, he might not even have a starting job.

“To be honest with you, I love Julian, great family, love his family, but he’s going to have to keep working his tail off,” SU head coach Scott Shafer said. “There’s (Juwan) Dowels and (Cordell) Hudson, we got great competition. There’s no guarantee who’s going to be the starter at corner right now.”

Wayne Morgan will also be in contention after healing from an injury that caused him to miss nine games last year.

Shafer said that everyone competing for cornerback positions has to keep their head down and improve, but offered no inkling of who had the edge over who when he spoke at Atlantic Coast Conference Media Day on Tuesday.

When asked if he expected more from Whigham, an incoming senior, Shafer said “not necessarily,” but said that consistency was a big focus for him.

“We’ll find out. He’s got another year to prove it to us,” Shafer said. “I know he’s a talented young man, now it’s going to be about consistency and trusting your technique … I do feel confident that we have quality competition.”