Five NC State Standouts Named To The Preseason All-ACC Team
RALEIGH, N.C. – Led by the 2022 ACC Preseason Player of the Year QB Devin Leary, NC State had five members voted to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Football Team the conference announced.
NC State's five selected were the second-highest total in the conference (Clemson – 6).
Leary is coming off a 2021 campaign in which he became the first and only quarterback in ACC history to hit the 35 (touchdowns)-5 (interceptions) threshold in a single season. He set a new school single-season record with his 35 passing touchdowns, breaking the previous mark of 34 held by Philip Rivers (2003).
Leary led the 2022 ACC Preseason Player of the Year balloting with 40 votes, followed by Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman (30) and Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke (21). A total of 11 players received votes.
In addition to Leary, center Grant Gibson was also named to the offensive squad. Entering his fourth season as the Pack's starter, Gibson led the Wolfpack with 828 snaps from scrimmage last year. He has started the last 35 games at center for NC State.
NC State tied for the most defensive players named with three, a season after the Pack ranked third in the ACC in total defense.
LB Drake Thomas (a first-team All-ACC selection last year with 100 tackles) led the voting for the three-man linebacking corps and is joined by teammate Payton Wilson who missed most of last season, but was a first-team All-ACC selection in 2020 after leading the conference in tackles (108).
S Tanner Ingle was also named to the preseason team, and he also earned first-team All-ACC honors for his performance last season.
Preseason honors were determined by a vote of 164 media members, including those who were credentialed for last week's ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte, North Carolina.
2022 Preseason All-ACC Football Team
(Total votes in parenthesis)
QB Devin Leary, NC State (56)
RB Sean Tucker, Syracuse (125)
RB Will Shipley, Clemson (112)
WR Josh Downs, North Carolina (128)
WR A.T. Perry, Wake Forest (111)
WR Zay Flowers, Boston College (104)
TE Will Mallory, Miami (69)
AP Keytaon Thompson, Virginia (70)
OT Jordan McFadden, Clemson (127)
OT Zion Nelson, Miami (82)
OG Caleb Chandler, Louisville (104)
OG Christian Mahogany, Boston College (67)
C Grant Gibson, NC State (90)
DE Myles Murphy, Clemson (120)
DE Habakkuk Baldonado, Pitt (54)
DT Bryan Bresee, Clemson (116)
DT Calijah Kancey, Pitt (62)
LB Drake Thomas, NC State (92)
LB Trenton Simpson, Clemson (82)
LB Payton Wilson, NC State (60)
CB Kei'Trel Clark, Louisville (70)
CB Josh DeBerry, Boston College (65)
S Jammie Robinson, Florida State (93)
S Tanner Ingle, NC State (63)
PK B.T. Potter, Clemson (99)
P Lou Hedley, Miami (101)
SP Josh Downs, North Carolina (57)