The 2021 ACC Football Kickoff begins Wednesday with players and coaches of teams from the Coastal Division set to conduct interviews with the media.
Players and coaches from the Atlantic Division, including NC State, will fulfill their media obligations on Thursday.
Along with head coach Dave Doeren, redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary, redshirt sophomore linebacker Payton Wilson and redshirt junior center Grant Gibson will be in attendance to represent the Wolfpack.
Media members must submit their ballots for the league's official preseason awards by Friday, and the results will go public shortly after.
The Wolfpacker's 2021 preseason ACC football projected order of finish
Here's a look at the preseason All-ACC ballots from The Wolfpacker staff:
Offense
Justin H. Williams's Ballot
QB — Sam Howell, North Carolina
RB — Zonovan Knight, NC State
RB — Jahmyr Gibbs, Georgia Tech
WR — Jaquarii Roberson, Wake Forest
WR — Zay Flowers, Boston College
WR — Justyn Ross, Clemson
TE — James Mitchell, Virginia Tech
All-Purpose — Thayer Thomas, NC State
OT — Ikem Ekwonu, NC State
OT — Tyler Vrabel, Boston College
OG — Zion Johnson, Boston College
OG — Joshua Ezeudu, North Carolina
C — Grant Gibson, NC State
Matt Carter's Ballot
QB — Sam Howell, North Carolina
RB — Zonovan Knight, NC State
RB — Jahmyr Gibbs, Georgia Tech
WR — Jaquarii Roberson, Wake Forest
WR — Zay Flowers, Boston College
WR — Mike Harley, Miami
TE — James Mitchell, Virginia Tech
All-Purpose — Thayer Thomas, NC State
OT — Ikem Ekwonu, NC State
OT — Ryan Swoboda, Virginia
OG — Chris Glaser, Virginia
OG — Lecitus Smith, Virginia Tech
C — Grant Gibson, NC State
Remarks:
Knight and Ekwonu are virtual locks to end up on the official preseason All-ACC roster at the end of the week, and Gibson is likely the favorite to be the league's representative at center.
Statistically speaking, Knight is the best returning running back in the conference this fall. He's the league's top returning rusher and all-purpose yards producer, and he didn't even lead his team in carries last season. That will likely change this fall, and if it does, the video game numbers will only go up once again.
Ekwonu is the league's top returning run blocker according to Pro Football Focus's (PFF) season grades from 2020. He also led the Wolfpack with 50 pancake blocks and was named "the most feared lineman in the ACC" by The Athletic earlier this summer.
Gibson is also regarded as one of college football's top centers in 2021. PFF ranked him No. 3 among the game's top returning interior offensive linemen this fall, and he earned preseason second-team All-American honors from PFF and Sporting News this offseason.
Thomas likely has the longest odds to make the official preseason All-ACC team of the four offensive Wolfpack players on this ballot. Compared to the competition of other all-purpose backs in the league, there's an argument to make that Thomas should be the pick.
The 6-0, 197-pounder has proven he can be productive in multiple elements of the game. Most ACC football fans already know him as a consistent, skilled slot receiver after he tied for the 17th-most receptions (42) and 20th-most receiving yards (529) in the league last season. He also tied for for seventh in the conference in touchdown receptions.
But Thomas is also a threat as a trick-play quarterback and punt returner. His 10.0 yards per punt average ranked second in the ACC last season, and he has also thrown three career touchdown passes on trick plays, including a 33-yarder last year in the Miami game.
Other candidates that were considered included senior receiver Emeka Emezie, who is part of a group of talented returning receivers in the conference. Emezie caught 47 passes for 738 yards and five touchdowns last season, numbers that are on par with many of the top candidates for All-ACC.
Defense and special teams
Justin H. Williams's Ballot
DE — Myles Murphy, Clemson
DE — Daniel Joseph, NC State
DT — Bryan Bresee, Clemson
DT — Ray Vohasek, North Carolina
LB — Payton Wilson, NC State
LB — Isaiah Moore, NC State
LB — Nick Jackson, Virginia
CB — Ke'Trel Clark, Louisville
CB — Andrew Booth, Clemson
S — Nolan Turner, Clemson
S — Bubba Bolden, Miami
PK — Andre Szmyt, Syracuse
P — Trenton Gill, NC State
SP — Nick Sciba, Wake Forest
Matt Carter's Ballot
DE — Amare Barno, Virginia Tech
DE — Myles Murphy, Clemson
DT — Bryan Bresee, Clemson
DT — Calijah Kancey, Pittsburgh
LB — Payton Wilson, NC State
LB — Isaiah Moore, NC State
LB — Nick Jackson, Virginia
CB — Ke'Trel Clark, Louisville
CB — Tony Grimes, North Carolina
S — Chamarri Conner, Virginia Tech
S — Bubba Bolden, Miami
PK — B.T. Potter, Clemson
P — Lou Hedley, Miami
SP — Jahmyr Gibbs, Georgia Tech
Remarks:
Wilson and Moore are good bets to end up on the final results list at the end of the week.
Wilson led the ACC with 108 tackles in 2020, becoming the first Wolfpack player to accomplish the feat since 2000. He produced a team-high 11.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 6.0 quarterback hurries, 2.0 interceptions and 1.0 pass breakup. He was a consensus first-team All-ACC linebacker last fall.
Moore was second on the team with 94 tackles, which also ranked fifth in the ACC. He registered 11.0 tackles for loss and produced 3.0 sacks, 4.0 quarterback hurries, 2.0 pass breakups and 1.0 fumble recovery. Moore was a team captain from 2020. After the Pack's 15-14 win over Liberty last season, Flames head coach Hugh Freeze called Moore "a no-brainer first-round talent."
Only time will tell if Joseph and/or Gill will make the official squad, but there's an argument to be had for both.
Joseph is tied with Virginia Tech's Amare Barno as the ACC's top returning sack leader in 2021. The former Penn State transfer was the No. 4 overall pick of the 2021 CFL Draft but has elected to return to college for one more season with the goal of being taken in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Gill is already NC State's program leader with a career punting average of 46.3 yards per attempt, a mark that ranks second among active ACC punters. In his debut season as the Wolfpack's starter in 2019, he led the league with a punting average of 47.6 yards per attempt, a mark that ranked third in the country. He followed it up with a 44.9 punting average last season, which ranked third in the country.
Also considered was junior placekicker Christopher Dunn, who in his career at NC State already owns the all-time record for career field goals with 56 and has been either second-team or honorable mention All-ACC three times.
Dunn is 56 of 67 on field goal attempts with a long of 53 yards and has made all 122 of his extra point attempts.
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