Duke’s Donovan Varner named to All ACC team

GREENSBORO, N.C. – North Carolina led all Atlantic Coast Conference schools with five players selected to the 2010 Preseason All-ACC Football team in voting conducted by the media at the annual ACC Football Kickoff, which was held July 25-26 at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro.
The Preseason All-ACC team was announced Wednesday.

In all, 20 of the 23 honorees on the team earned first or second-team All-ACC honors last fall, with 16 having been selected to the All-ACC first team. The three remaining players who were voted onto the 2010 preseason team were Honorable Mention All-ACC last year.

North Carolina’s defense, which finished sixth nationally last year in total defense, had all five of the UNC players selected to the preseason All-ACC squad in defensive end Robert Quinn (Ladson, S.C.), defensive tackle Marvin Austin (Washington, D.C.), linebacker Quan Sturdivant (Oakboro, N.C.), cornerback Kendric Burney (Jacksonville, N.C.) and safety Deunta Williams (Jacksonville, N.C.). 
Boston College was next with four players chosen in tailback Montel Harris (Jacksonville, Fla.), offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo (Hawthorn Woods, Ill.), offensive guard Thomas Claiborne (Randolph, Mass.) and linebacker Luke Kuechly (Cincinnati, Ohio).

Clemson and Miami each had three players honored, followed by Maryland and Florida State with two and Duke, Georgia Tech, NC State and Virginia Tech with one each.
Clemson safety DeAndre McDaniel (Tallahassee, Fla.) garnered the most votes, being named on 48 of the 52 ballots while North Carolina defensive end Robert Quinn (47 votes) and Virginia Tech tailback Ryan Williams (45) were the next highest.

Though Florida State had just two players chosen, they were quarterback Christian Ponder (Colleyville, Tex.), the media pick for ACC Preseason Player of the Year, and offensive guard Rodney Hudson (Mobile, Ala.), who is seeking to become only the seventh player in ACC history--and only the fourth position player--to be selected to the All-ACC Football Team for four consecutive seasons. Hudson was a second-team All-ACC choice as a freshman in 2007 and earned first-team honors in 2008 and 2009.
Miami’s Matt Bosher (Jupiter, Fla.), who earned first-team All-ACC honors as a placekicker and second team as a punter last year, was named to the preseason team at both positions.

Maryland’s Torrey Smith (Colonial Beach, Va.), who set ACC single-season kickoff return yardage records in each of the last two seasons, was also named to the preseason team at two positions—specialist and wide receiver. Smith was a second-team All-ACC choice at both positions last year.
Those who were chosen first-team All-ACC last fall included Robert Quinn, Quan Sturdivant, Kendric Burney and Deunta Williams of North Carolina; Allen Bailey, Matt Bosher and Brandon Harris of Miami; Anthony Castonzo and Luke Kuechly of Boston College; DeAndre McDaniel of Clemson, Donovan Varner of Duke, Rodney Hudson of Florida State, Sean Bedford of Georgia Tech, Alex Wujciak of Maryland, George Bryan of NC State and Ryan Williams of Virginia Tech.

Boston College’s Montel Harris, Clemson’s Chris Hairston, Maryland’s Torrey Smith, Miami’s Matt Bosher and North Carolina’s Marvin Austin were selected to the 2009 All-ACC second team, while Boston College’s Thomas Claiborne, Clemson’s Jarvis Jenkins and Florida State’s Christian Ponder were honorable mention All-ACC last fall.
Ten of the ACC’s 12 teams were represented on the team, and a total of 52 ballots were cast at the Kickoff for the preseason all-conference football team.
 
 
2010 Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Team                                         
 
Offense
 
Pos. Name (Votes)                                          Ht      Wt       Class             Hometown
WR  Donovan Varner, Duke (27)                    5-9     170      Junior            Miami, Fla.                             
WR  Torrey Smith, Maryland (19)                   6-1     200      Junior            Colonial Beach, Va.                            
TE    George Bryan, NC State (21)                   6-5     265      Junior            Castle Hayne, N.C.
T      Anthony Castonzo, Boston College (43)  6-7     295      Senior            Hawthorn Woods, Ill.                         
T      Chris Hairston, Clemson (21)                  6-7     325      Senior            Winston-Salem, N.C.
G     Rodney Hudson, Florida State (43)          6-2     282      Senior            Mobile, Ala.                                        
G     Thomas Claiborne, Boston College (21)  6-3     325      Senior            Randolph, Mass.
C      Sean Bedford, Georgia Tech (25)            6-1     274      Senior            Gainesville, Fla.
QB   Christian Ponder, Florida State (35)         6-3     227      Senior            Colleyville, Tex.
RB   Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech (45)          5-10   211      Sophomore    Manassas, Va.
RB   Montel Harris, Boston College (30)         5-10   200      Junior            Jacksonville, Fla.
 
Defense
 
Pos. Name (Votes)                                          Ht      Wt       Class             Hometown                 
DE   Robert Quinn, North Carolina (47)          6-5     270      Junior            Ladson, S.C.
DE   Allen Bailey, Miami (31)                         6-4     288      Senior            Sapelo, Ga.
DT   Marvin Austin, North Carolina (32)         6-3     305      Senior            Washington, D.C.
DT   Jarvis Jenkins, Clemson (27)                   6-4     310      Senior            Clemson, S.C.
LB   Alex Wujciak, Maryland (34)                  6-3     245      Senior            West Caldwell, N.J.
LB   Quan Sturdivant,    North Carolina (32)   6-2     235      Senior            Oakboro, N.C.
LB   Luke Kuechly, Boston College (25)         6-3     225      Sophomore    Cincinnati, Ohio
CB   Kendric Burney, North Carolina (27)      5-9     190      Senior            Jacksonville, N.C.
CB   Brandon Harris, Miami (26)                     5-11   195      Junior            Miami, Fla.
S      DeAndre McDaniel, Clemson (48)          6-1     215      Senior            Tallahassee, Fla.
S      Deunta Williams, North Carolina (41)     6-2     210      Senior            Jacksonville, N.C.
 
Specialists
 
Pos. Name (Votes)                                          Ht      Wt       Class             Hometown
PK   Matt Bosher, Miami (32)                          6-0     205      Senior            Jupiter, Fla.
P      Matt Bosher, Miami (20)                          6-0     205      Senior            Jupiter, Fla.
SP    Torrey Smith, Maryland (24)                   6-1     210      Junior            Colonial Beach, Va.