Brian: Phil Steele released his 2010 Preseason All ACC Team on Saturday. As we discussed on Saturday, Steele is fairly bullish on the Eagles’ chances in 2010. It should come as no surprise then that BC tied for second with Miami for the most first-team All ACC selections.
Here are the Steele’s BC picks:
First Team
RB - Montel Harris
OG - Thomas Claiborne
OT - Anthony Castonzo
LB - Luke Kuechly
P - Ryan Quigley
Second Team
LB - Mark Herzlich
Third Team
OT - Rich Lapham
DE - Alex Albright
Fourth Team
FS - Wes Davis
Any surprises on this list for you? Anyone you feel got left out or underrated on Steele’s All ACC Team? Your thoughts?
Jeff: I would say that every BC player on Steele's first team is a lock to make one of his four All-ACC teams at the end of the season. After that, I don't think that Herzlich, Lapham, Albright and Davis are a lock at all to make any of the all-conference teams at the end of the year. Herzlich is clearly going to be the biggest question mark where he could be anything from the ACC Defensive Player of the Year again to someone that plays limited snaps this season. Albright is probably also very dependent on staying healthy in order to have a good enough season to make an all-conference team.
Out of the other Eagles who didn't make the lists, I think the most likely to be there at the end of the season is Chris Pantale at tight end. He had a very nice season last year and could catch a lot of passes this season and of course his stock could be helped by the overall success of the team. After Pantale, without thinking about any freshman, maybe DeLeon Gause, Mike Morrissey, Colin Larmond Jr., or Dave Shinskie have seasons worthy of a third or fourth team selection. Who do you like emerging that's not already on the list?
Brian: What did surprise me was Ryan Quigley making first team All-ACC as a punter. Is Quigley the best punter in the conference? BC's combined kicking and punting game hasn't been the greatest the past few years so I was happy to see Quigley recognized.
I think you might be onto something with either Gause or Morrissey. The other two guys to keep an eye on will be Nate Richman and Emmett Cleary on the offensive line. Richman is moving from guard to center to replace Matt Tennant, and Cleary is a relative newcomer to the line. That said, with four of five starters returning, offensive line will again be a strength for this team and I wouldn't be surprised if the other two starters join Claiborne, Castonzo and Lapham on Steele's end of season All-ACC teams.
Thoughts on Steele's All-ACC team?