Every summer, college football preview magazines hit the shelves in grocery stores nationwide for rabid fans hungry to know how their team will fare in the upcoming season.

Despite a fall college football season being very much in question, the preview magazines haven't missed a beat. Now that the Phil Steele, Athlon, Street & Smith's and Lindy's Sports have all been released, here is part one of our NC State-focused review of the big four preseason college football magazines:

The Wolfpack's specialists received the most praise from the college football preview magazines in terms of All-conference honors. Redshirt junior punter Trenton Gill is a consensus All-ACC pick after breaking the school record in 2019 for punting average.

While Street & Smith's gave the least love to NC State players on its only all-conference team, it was the only publication of the four to have a Wolfpack player on one of its All-American teams. Gill also made the cut for second-team All-American in Street & Smith's.

Redshirt junior wide receiver Thayer Thomas appeared the second-most among Wolfpack players with three all-conference selections, however, he was selected as a punt returner in two and an all-purpose offensive selection in Lindy's.

Sophomore offensive tackle Ikem "Ickey" Ekwonu and junior kicker Christopher Dunn each appear twice in the All-ACC lists. Ekwonu was a second-team all-conference pick as a freshman according to PFF and Dunn, a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award in 2019, returns as a second-team All-ACC selection last season.

NC State's main outlier of the position group rankings in the ACC is the offensive line. While Athlon has the Wolfpack's O-line ranked No. 4 in the conference, Phil Steele has the Pack much lower at No. 11 his list -- the lowest conference rank among all of NC State's position groups according to the publication.

Overall, Phil Steele was the most bullish on the Wolfpack compared to the rest of the preview magazines, but the offensive line ranking is questionable. With the presence of talented sophomore tackle Ekwonu along with the return of redshirt junior center Grant Gibson, redshirt senior guard Joe Sculthorpe and redshirt senior tackle Justin Witt, who missed most of the year with a season-ending shoulder injury, the offensive line is considered one of NC State's potential strengths in 2020.

Considering how thin the Wolfpack will be in the defensive backfield in 2020, the No. 10 conference ranking by Phil Steele may be as generous as the publication's offensive line ranking was stingy. Despite the presence of preseason All-ACC safety junior Tanner Ingle, defensive back depth may present an issue considering the wave of graduations and transfers since last season.

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