North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell has been voted the ACC Preseason Player of the Year by the media that covers the league, plus two other Tar Heels earned enough votes to make first-team all-conference.
The UNC quarterback received 114 of 146 votes. Last season, Howell was second-team All-ACC after leading the ACC with 30 touchdown passes and 3,586 passing yards. Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, the first pick in the NFL draft in April, was the first team QB.
Howell has started all 25 games the Tar Heels have played the last two seasons completing 496 of 770 pass attempts (64.4 percent) for 7.227 yards, 68 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. In addition, Howell has run for six touchdowns and has caught two TD passes.
"I just want everything to be about the team and I just want to make sure I give the team everything I've got on a daily basis,” Howell said last week at the ACC Kickoff in Charlotte. “I don't want the team to think I'm worried about the next level or the Heisman Trophy. I just want to go out there every single game and give it all, leave it all on the field for my team."
A junior from Lawrenceville, GA, Ezeudu was an All-ACC third team selection last fall. He started all 10 games appeared in last season and earned ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors on Dec. 14.
Grimes came on strong at the end of his true freshman season by making four starts at defensive back and appeared in all 12 games on special teams in 2020. He amassed 14 tackles, four pass breakups, 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one interception. The Virginia Beach, Va., native had a season-high three stops, two PBU and a sack against No. 5 Texas A&M in the Orange Bowl.
Six-time defending champion Clemson leads all schools with eight players on the 27-member 2021 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Football Team
Six-time defending champion Clemson leads all schools with eight players on the 27-member 2021 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Football Team
Six of Clemson’s preseason All-ACC selections came on the defensive side. The Tigers led the conference in total defense last season (326.8 total yards per game) and were second in scoring defense (20.2 points per contest).
Howell is joined in the preseason All-ACC backfield by running backs Zonovan Knight of NC State and Mataeo Durant of Duke. Clemson’s Justyn Ross, Boston College’s Zay Flowers and Wake Forest’s Jaquarii Roberson form a potent wideout trio, and Virginia Tech tight end James Mitchell completes the receiving corps. Georgia Tech’s Jahmyr Gibbs was chosen as the all-purpose back.
Ross caught 112 passes for 1,865 yards and 17 touchdowns in his first two college seasons before missing last season due to injury. Flowers’ nine touchdown catches led all ACC receivers in 2020, and Roberson’s 102.9 receiving yards per game were a league high.
Boston College boasts a pair of preseason All-ACC offensive linemen in center Alec Lindstrom and guard Zion Johnson. They are joined by NC State tackle Ikem Ekwonu, Clemson tackle Jordan McFadden and North Carolina guard Joshua Ezeudu.
Ross (110 votes) and Flowers (101) joined Howell among the leading vote-getters on the offensive unit.
Clemson defensive tackle Bryan Bresee led all players in the balloting with 120 votes. Bresee’s five Tiger teammates on the preseason All-ACC defensive unit include fellow tackle Tyler Davis, end Myles Murphy, linebacker James Skalski, cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. and safety Nolan Turner.
NC State’s Payton Wilson, who joined Bresee on the 2020 All-ACC team, joins Skalski and Virginia’s Nick Jackson on the preseason All-ACC linebacking corps. Virginia Tech defensive end Amare’ Barno, North Carolina cornerback Tony Grimes and Miami safety Bubba Bolden complete the first-team defense.
Clemson’s Murphy (108 votes) and Miami’s Bolden (100) joined Bresee among defensive players hitting the century mark in the balloting, and NC State’s Wilson received 99 votes.
Wake Forest veteran Nick Sciba (third-most accurate in ACC history with a career field-goal conversion rate of .891) received the nod as placekicker. Preseason All-ACC punter Lou Hedley returns to Miami after ranking second among FBS players with an average of 47.2 yards per kick in 2020. Gibbs was a dual choice at specialist after leading Georgia Tech in all-purpose yards (968) and scoring (seven TDs) in 2020 despite missing three games due to injury.
2021 Preseason All-ACC Football Team
(Total votes in parenthesis)
QB Sam Howell, North Carolina (118)
RB Zonovan Knight, NC State (96)
RB Mataeo Durant, Duke (49)
WR Justyn Ross, Clemson (110)
WR Zay Flowers, Boston College (101)
WR Jaquarii Roberson, Wake Forest (80)
TE James Mitchell, Virginia Tech (77)
AP Jahmyr Gibbs, Georgia Tech (56)
OT Ikem Ekwonu, NC State (83)
OT Jordan McFadden, Clemson (53)
OG Zion Johnson, Boston College (82)
OG Joshua Ezeudu, North Carolina (56)
C Alec Lindstrom, Boston College (77)
DE Myles Murphy, Clemson (108)
DE Amare’ Barno, Virginia Tech (63)
DT Bryan Bresee, Clemson (120)
DT Tyler Davis, Clemson (53)
LB Payton Wilson, NC State (99)
LB James Skalski, Clemson (95)
LB Nick Jackson, Virginia (37)
CB Andrew Booth Jr., Clemson (86)
CB Tony Grimes, North Carolina (55)
S Bubba Bolden, Miami (100)
S Nolan Turner, Clemson (85)
PK Nick Sciba, Wake Forest (69)
P Lou Hedley, Miami (84)
SP Jahmyr Gibbs, Georgia Tech (60)
Preseason Player of the Year
1. Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina, 114
2. D’Eriq King, QB, Miami, 11
3. Bryan Bresee, DE, Clemson, 8
4. D.J. Uiagalelei, QB, Clemson, 6
5. Phil Jurkovec, QB, Boston College, 3
6. Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College, 2
6. Jahmyr Gibbs, AP, Georgia Tech, 2
