Carter Third in Preseason POY, 3 Tigers Make Preseason All-ACC

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Led by Miami with five selections, nine Atlantic Coast Conference football programs had multiple players named to the 27-member 2024 All-ACC Preseason Football Team, it was announced on Thursday.

In addition to earning a spot on the preseason team, Miami senior quarterback Cam Ward was voted the 2024 ACC Preseason Player of the Year.

A total of 12 teams had at least one representative on the All-ACC Preseason Team, selected via a vote of 170 media members who were among those credentialed for last week’s ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte, North Carolina.

For the second consecutive year, Florida State had four selections. Clemson followed with three honorees, while Cal, Louisville, North Carolina, NC State, Syracuse and Virginia Tech all had two players named to the preseason team.

SMU, Stanford and Virginia each had one player named to the preseason team.

The nation’s leading returner in passing yards per game this season, Ward finished the regular season last year leading the Pac-12 Conference with 323 completions while at Washington State in 2023. He ranked fourth in the country with an average of 311.3 passing yards per game and was sixth nationally with an average of 323.3 yards of total offense per game. Ward tallied seven 300-passing yard games, threw 25 touchdown passes, rushed for eight touchdowns and recorded five games with one rushing touchdown and at least two touchdown passes.

Ward led the 2024 ACC Preseason Player of the Year balloting with 71 votes, followed by North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton, who was a First-Team All-ACC pick and led the league in rushing last season with 1,504 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns. Clemson linebacker Barrett Carter received 15 votes, finishing just ahead of Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones (13) and Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King (12), as 11 players received at least one vote for Preseason Player of the Year.

The preseason team features 20 returning All-ACC honorees from the 2023 season, including six first-team selections, seven second-team honorees and seven third-team picks. The list also includes 2023 All-Pac-12 First-Team selection in Cal running back Jaydn Ott, who was named to the preseason team at both running back and all-purpose back after leading the Pac-12 last year in rushing yards per game (109.6) and all-purpose yards per game (135.7) which both ranked in the top 10 in all of FBS football.

2024 Preseason All-ACC Football Team

QB: Cam Ward, Miami (85)

RB: Omarion Hampton, North Carolina (114)

RB: Jaydn Ott, Cal (70)

WR: Kevin “KC” Concepcion, NC State (119)

WR: Xavier Restrepo, Miami (93)

WR: Elic Ayomanor, Stanford (42)

TE: Oronde Gadsden II, Syracuse (48)

AP: Jaydn Ott, Cal (49)

OT: Darius Washington, Florida State (93)

OT: Blake Miller, Clemson (53)

OG: Willie Lampkin, North Carolina (64)

OG: Michael Gonzalez, Louisville (56)

C: Maurice Smith, Florida State (62)

DE: Ashton Gillotte, Louisville (52)

DE: Rueben Bain, Jr., Miami (49)

DT: Joshua Farmer, Florida State (75)

DT: Aeneas Peebles, Virginia Tech (64)

LB: Barrett Carter, Clemson (129)

LB: Francisco Mauigoa, Miami (72)

LB: Marlowe Wax, Syracuse (67)

CB: Dorian Strong, Virginia Tech (65)

CB: Aydan White, NC State (56)

S: Jonas Sanker, Virginia (73)

S: R.J. Mickens, Clemson (44)

PK: Andres Borregales, Miami (92)

P: Alex Mastromanno, Florida State (81)

SP: Brashard Smith, SMU (36)

2024 ACC Preseason Player of the Year

Rk. Name, Position, School

1.   Cam Ward, QB, Miami (71)

2.   Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina (38)

3.   Barrett Carter, LB, Clemson (15)

4.   Kyron Drones, QB, Virginia Tech (13)

5.   Haynes King, QB, Georgia Tech (12)

6.   Jaydn Ott, RB, Cal (8)

7.   Ashton Gillotte, DL, Louisville (5)

8.   Jordan Moore, WR, Duke (3)

9.   Preston Stone, QB, SMU (2)

10. Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Virginia Tech (2)

11. Antwaun Powell-Ryland, DL, Virginia Tech (1)

Votes in parentheses

170 media voters

ACC Football Notes

• The ACC is the Conference of Quarterbacks, with the return of full-time starters Thomas Castellanos at Boston College, Cade Klubnik at Clemson, Grayson Loftis at Duke, Haynes King at Georgia Tech, Preston Stone at SMU, and Kyron Drones at Virginia Tech, and transfers DJ Uiagalelei at Florida State, Tyler Shough at Louisville, Cam Ward at Miami, Grayson McCall at NC State, and Kyle McCord at Syracuse among others.
• ACC had 10 quarterbacks named to the Maxwell Award preseason watch list, no other conference had more.
• ACC has the top-ranked group of quarterback transfers in 2024 by CBS Sports.
• 13 QBs in the league enter the 2024 season with over 20 career touchdown passes and 3,500 career passing yards.
• Eight quarterbacks from ACC schools are projected to start Week 1 in the 2024 NFL season — 25 percent of NFL teams.
• Since 2018, the ACC has had at least one quarterback drafted in the first round in five different drafts — the only conference to do that.
• The ACC’s non-conference schedule continues to be the most challenging in the country.
• 27 games against Power 4 opponents, including Notre Dame, the most of any conference.
• Nine non-conference games against teams ranked in the final 2023 Associated Press Top 25 Poll, the most of any conference.
• 10 non-conference games against teams in ESPN’s 2024 Way-Too-Early Top 25, the most of any conference.
• ACC Features Elite Coaching Leadership
• Six ACC head coaches were named to the 2024 Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List, as announced by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and the Peach Bowl, no other conference had more.
• Two of the three active coaches to win a national title reside in the ACC – Dabo Swinney led Clemson to national titles in 2016 and 2018. North Carolina’s Mack Brown won a national title at Texas in 2005.
• The 2024 ACC Football Championship Game will kick off in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on ABC on Saturday, Dec. 7, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.