Three Hurricanes Voted to Preseason All-ACC Team

Hedley, Mallory and Nelson all make cut for 27-player team

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – A trio of University of Miami football players garnered Preseason All-ACC recognition, as announced Wednesday afternoon by the conference office.

Punter Lou Hedley, tight end Will Mallory and offensive tackle Zion Nelson all made the cut for the 27-player team. Miami joined Boston College, Clemson and NC State as the only schools with three-plus selections based off votes from 164 media members, including those credentialed for last week’s ACC Kickoff in Charlotte, N.C.

A sixth-year redshirt senior from Mandurah, Australia, Hedley is a two-time Second Team All-ACC selection. He was an Associated Press Second Team All-American and a Ray Guy Award finalist in 2020, then a semifinalist in 2021 and is now part of the preseason watch list.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder, who garnered 111 votes, has averaged 45.2 yards per punt over his three seasons as a Hurricane. He has booted at least one 60-yarder each year—including a long mark of 67—and placed 40.4 percent of his punts inside the 20 during the 2021 campaign.

A fifth-year senior out of Jacksonville, Fla., Mallory owns 73 receptions for 1,006 yards and 11 touchdowns over his for seasons as a Hurricane. He is coming off his finest campaign, as he posted highs in catches (30), yards (347), starts (12) and longest reception (57) in 2021, while matching his top mark in touchdowns (four).

The 6-foot-5, 245-pounder, who earned 69 votes, has appeared in 46 games during his stellar Miami tenure, notching 26 starts, including opening all 12 contests in 2021. The 2022 Mackey Award Watch List designee has recorded 70-plus yards four times, recording a high of 93 on Nov. 30, 2019, at Duke.

A fourth-year junior who hails from Sumter, S.C., Nelson has played in all 36 games since his 2019 arrival at Miami. He has started 32 of those affairs, including all 12 in 2021 and all 13 in 2019.

The 6-foot-5, 316-pounder, who received 82 nods in the voting, logged All-ACC Honorable Mention status in 2021. Over the last two years, he has helped the Hurricanes average 444.5 yards per game across 23 contests, including 300.2 in the air.

In addition, third-year sophomore quarterback Tyler Van Dyke placed third in the ACC Preseason Player of the Year voting, amassing 21 votes. The 2021 ACC Rookie of the Year and five-time ACC Rookie of the Week, Van Dyke threw for 2,931 yards and 25 touchdowns in just 10 games, nine of which he started, last season.

The 6-foot-4, 224-pounder completed 62.3 percent of his passes, the sixth-best single-season mark in program history, and threw only five interceptions in 2021.In addition, Van Dyke became the first Power Five quarterback since LSU’s Joe Burrow in 2019 to throw for 300-plus yards and three-plus touchdowns in six straight games.

2022 Preseason All-ACC 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)