College Football
Five Tar Heels, one each from Duke, State named preseason All-ACC
Jul 28, 2010
North Carolina is well represented on the preseason All-ACC squad.
The school led all Atlantic Coast Conference schools with five players selected to the 2010 Preseason All-ACC Football team in voting conducted by the media at the annual ACC Football Kickoff.
North Carolina’s defense, which finished sixth nationally last year in total defense, had all five of the UNC players selected to the preseason All-ACC squad in defensive end Robert Quinn, defensive tackle Marvin Austin, linebacker Quan Sturdivant, cornerback Kendric Burney and safety Deunta Williams.
Duke and N.C. State each had one player named to the team in wide receiver Donovan Varner and tight end George Bryan, respectively.
The team was announced Wednesday.
In all, 20 of the 23 honorees on the team earned first or second-team All-ACC honors last fall, with 16 having been selected to the All-ACC first team. The three remaining players who were voted onto the 2010 preseason team were Honorable Mention All-ACC last year.
Boston College was next with four players chosen in tailback Montel Harris, offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo, offensive guard Thomas Claiborne and linebacker Luke Kuechly.
Clemson and Miami each had three players honored, followed by Maryland and Florida State with two and Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech with one each.
Clemson safety DeAndre McDaniel garnered the most votes, being named on 48 of the 52 ballots while North Carolina defensive end Robert Quinn (47 votes) and Virginia Tech tailback Ryan Williams (45) were the next highest.
Though Florida State had just two players chosen, they were quarterback Christian Ponder, the media pick for ACC Preseason Player of the Year, and offensive guard Rodney Hudson, who is seeking to become only the seventh player in ACC history--and only the fourth position player--to be selected to the All-ACC Football Team for four consecutive seasons. Hudson was a second-team All-ACC choice as a freshman in 2007 and earned first-team honors in 2008 and 2009.
Miami’s Matt Bosher, who earned first-team All-ACC honors as a placekicker and second team as a punter last year, was named to the preseason team at both positions.
Maryland’s Torrey Smith, who set ACC single-season kickoff return yardage records in each of the last two seasons, was also named to the preseason team at two positions—specialist and wide receiver. Smith was a second-team All-ACC choice at both positions last year.
Those who were chosen first-team All-ACC last fall included Robert Quinn, Quan Sturdivant, Kendric Burney and Deunta Williams of North Carolina; Allen Bailey, Matt Bosher and Brandon Harris of Miami; Anthony Castonzo and Luke Kuechly of Boston College; DeAndre McDaniel of Clemson, Donovan Varner of Duke, Rodney Hudson of Florida State, Sean Bedford of Georgia Tech, Alex Wujciak of Maryland, George Bryan of NC State and Ryan Williams of Virginia Tech.
Boston College’s Montel Harris, Clemson’s Chris Hairston, Maryland’s Torrey Smith, Miami’s Matt Bosher and North Carolina’s Marvin Austin were selected to the 2009 All-ACC second team, while Boston College’s Thomas Claiborne, Clemson’s Jarvis Jenkins and Florida State’s Christian Ponder were honorable mention All-ACC last fall.
Ten of the ACC’s 12 teams were represented on the team, and a total of 52 ballots were cast at the Kickoff for the preseason all-conference football team.
Copyright 2012 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Most Recent Comments
RE: Five Tar Heels, one each from Duke, State named preseason All-ACC
Yeah, Unc was ranked in the top 10 preseason last year, and they are bringing back the same sorry offense and coaches as last year. Amazing how UNC keeps getting overated year after year after year, and yet these preseason polls keep hyping them up. Where did their offense finish last year? Like in the bottom 10 percent in the country? I havent seen the story about these program-changing offensive players and coaches they brought in...
- Posted by shakennotstirred
Speaking of smoking it appears we found someone that drinks the bong water afterwards. Please find me this poll or support not on a nc state blog or dimemagazine poll showing the Heels in the top ten last year or any year for that matter. UNC was not ranked in the top 10 last year. They were #21, and as late as week 13 they were in the mid 20's so I'd say that preseason ranking wasn't far off where they landed. Perhaps you meant 2008? Wait they only had 14 votes that year.. hmm well I went all the way back to '05 and I'm just not seeing any support to any of your rant so I'm just going to have to stick with my initial thought that you dont know what your talking about. Nice try though. Must be a conspiracy?
I think it was CNNSI or some writer for CNNSI that had Carolina in the top-10. I think that poll came out before the summer, though. They may have adjusted it by the time football season rolled around.
I had a text file with some links in it, including links to preseason poll sites. If I still have it, I'll post it later tonight. Carolina was either 10th or 11th in that poll. I remember thinking how hilarious that was!
Ah, think thats still pretty rediculous. We probably need to stick to the national polls. CNNSI & Dimemagazine obviously are a little bias. At a minimum that should not be what anyone bases an argument on here. Otherwise I'll be starting the rest of my post: "Well according to Heather Dinich"
RE: Five Tar Heels, one each from Duke, State named preseason All-ACC
Some posters reflect my sentiment very well on the topic of this article... namely by asking, more or less, "What's the big deal... it's a PRESEASON All-ACC team!" Although I love it, the world of sports is a "strange" one. Surely the "Preseason" picks are based on past performance and the potential that suggests, but it presents an expectation of outstanding performance that may or may not actually take place... so why would anyone get excited or agitated about who is on a "Preseason" team? Would any player EVER "put on their resume" that they were a selected for a "Preseason" All-Whatever team if they were not named to the team that really matters... the one at the end of the season? These "All-whatever PRESEASON teams" are yet again a means of hyping something by those who stand to profit by it. I for one... waste little time on preseason picks to such teams unless it is to state how useless and foolish they are... I am doing now.
- Posted by Objective Scientist
I think the preseason football poll gives us sports lovers something,
anything, to yap about until the season finally starts. I think a lot of us are so sports starved we'll grab onto any topic to help ease the withdrawl we suffer when basketball (and hockey for some, me included) has ended. I can't WAIT for football - and cooler weather - to start.
RE: Five Tar Heels, one each from Duke, State named preseason All-ACC
Rumor has it Austin has already moved back to DC.
- Posted by early exit Roy
hell.....who paid for that??
The Duke offensive line took up a collection.
Now that's a good one :)
RE: Five Tar Heels, one each from Duke, State named preseason All-ACC
One word....Defense...NATE!
One word....Offense...RUSSELL!
nuff said!
- Posted by jandscroom
Problem is, what happens when opposing QB's throw the ball over Nate's head? Then what? I'm a State fan, but we're in trouble on defense, Nate or no Nate.
RE: Five Tar Heels, one each from Duke, State named preseason All-ACC
Yeah, Unc was ranked in the top 10 preseason last year, and they are bringing back the same sorry offense and coaches as last year. Amazing how UNC keeps getting overated year after year after year, and yet these preseason polls keep hyping them up. Where did their offense finish last year? Like in the bottom 10 percent in the country? I havent seen the story about these program-changing offensive players and coaches they brought in...
- Posted by shakennotstirred
Speaking of smoking it appears we found someone that drinks the bong water afterwards. Please find me this poll or support not on a nc state blog or dimemagazine poll showing the Heels in the top ten last year or any year for that matter. UNC was not ranked in the top 10 last year. They were #21, and as late as week 13 they were in the mid 20's so I'd say that preseason ranking wasn't far off where they landed. Perhaps you meant 2008? Wait they only had 14 votes that year.. hmm well I went all the way back to '05 and I'm just not seeing any support to any of your rant so I'm just going to have to stick with my initial thought that you dont know what your talking about. Nice try though. Must be a conspiracy?
I think it was CNNSI or some writer for CNNSI that had Carolina in the top-10. I think that poll came out before the summer, though. They may have adjusted it by the time football season rolled around.
I had a text file with some links in it, including links to preseason poll sites. If I still have it, I'll post it later tonight. Carolina was either 10th or 11th in that poll. I remember thinking how hilarious that was!
Rank: 
Rank: 
Rank: 
