2009 ACC Football Preseason All-ACC Team

With ACC media days behind, fall camps are starting soon and the season is a mere month away. One of my favorite parts of media festivities is the release of the All-ACC team. This years squad looks stellar, with more than a few guys that will be making a living on Sundays.

OFFENSE
It comes as no surprise that NC State Sophomore QB Russell Wilson is first team. He blew up the scene in ’08, leading the ACC in passing efficiency and had a eye-popping 17-to-1 TD and INT ratio.

Miami LT Jason Fox

The running back slots are taken by 2008 Player of the Year Jonathan Dwyer and Heisman hopeful CJ Spiller from Clemson. Hands down the best backs in the conference, but easily both are top 5 in the nation. The wide receiver position is lacking a little this year with a slew of graduations and drafts. Clemson’s Jacoby Ford and his sub-2.0 40-Speed (yes, that’s an exaggeration; driving home exactly how fast this guy is) should see a significant rise in catches with Aaron Kelly gone, and Demaryius Thomas should benefit from Georgia Tech apparently planning on passing more.

The tight-end slot is pretty steady with Virginia Techs Greg Boone. If QB Tyrod Taylor can manage to pass a little more in ’09, Boone will be great option. The offensive line is as steady as any all-conference in the nation. The running backs at Boston College have to be smiling ear to ear with two of their big guys good enough to make all-conference. I have to give a nod to Miami’s Jason Fox as top OL though, not allowing a sack last season. Impressive to say the least. His teammate K Matt Bosher rounds down the offense. Bosher was deadly accurate last year, nailing all 40 PAT’s and hitting on 18 of 20 attempts, including a 52-yarder.

DEFENSE
The defensive line for the ACC is pretty good for 2009. Jason Worilds tallied almost 19 tackles-for-loss for Virginia Tech last year, and Vince Oghobaase is an NFL caliber player on a Juco team.

Georgia Tech S Morgan Burnett

Behind the line, the linebackers spot is solid. Everyone knows about Dekoda Watson, but Quan Sturdivant from North Carolina and Alex Wujciak from Maryland need a spotlight. Sturdivant led the nation in unassisted tackles last year and Wujciak is a hard hitter with a nose for the ball, averaging a little over 10 tackles a game, which was 13th nationally.

I think the real strength of the defense are the pass defenders and deep men. Ras-I Dowling is a true shut-down corner and in the safety slot, Georgia Tech’s Morgan Burnett is the all-star (preseason All-American by 3 sources). Travis Baltz from Maryland got the nod for punting. He led the ACC in average last season at 41.1.

On a side note, kudos to Clemson RB CJ Spiller, who was elected not only 1st Team All-ACC for runningback, but specialist also.