ESPN College Football

The ACC released the 2010 preseason all-conference team, as voted on by 52 members of the media at the conference media days in Greensboro, N.C. UNC led all schools with five players selected, followed by Boston College with four players.

Clemson safety DeAndre McDaniel got 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. Virginia and Wake Forest were the only two schools not represented here.

Offense

WR Donovan Varner, Duke

WR Torrey Smith, Maryland

TE George Bryan, NC State

T Anthony Castonzo, Boston College

T Chris Hairston, Clemson

G Rodney Hudson, Florida State

G Thomas Claiborne, Boston College

C Sean Bedford, Georgia Tech

QB Christian Ponder, Florida State

RB Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech

RB Montel Harris, Boston College

Defense

DE Robert Quinn, North Carolina

DE Allen Bailey, Miami

DT Marvin Austin, North Carolina

DT Jarvis Jenkins, Clemson

LB Alex Wujciak, Maryland

LB Quan Sturdivant, North Carolina

LB Luke Kuechly, Boston College

CB Kendric Burney, North Carolina

CB Brandon Harris, Miami

S DeAndre McDaniel, Clemson

S Deunta Williams, North Carolina

Specialists

PK Matt Bosher, Miami

P Matt Bosher, Miami

SP Torrey Smith, Maryland

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- It seems as if Boston College players, coaches and fans have grown numb to consistently being overlooked by the media.

It's not the media's respect, though, the players are looking to earn. They want it from their opponents, and offensive lineman Anthony Castonzo said they're getting it.

"I think we have that," Castonzo said. "When we play teams they know we're going to bring it. That's what matters most to us."

BC has been picked to finish behind Florida State every year since joining the league, but has finished no worse than tied with the Seminoles. Last summer, the Eagles were picked to finish last but were still in the hunt to win the Atlantic Division in November. In 2008, BC was picked to finish fourth in the division but played in the ACC championship game.

So what is the media missing?

"It's hard to see when a team has guys who are willing to go every play," Castonzo said. "Some teams, guys take plays off. The reason we're good is because we don't take plays off. That's hard to see from the media's standpoint. The fact that we don't take plays off wears teams down sometimes. It's the little things in the game that are hard to see."

When those things add up, though, the Eagles are impossible to miss. Just ask their competition.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- After a disastrous 2-10 season, Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen knows his job is on the line this fall, but he said the current uncertainty within the administration isn’t a concern for him. The university needs to hire both a new president and an athletic director.

“It doesn’t really concern me,” Friedgen said. “If I do well in the next two years, I think I’ll be at Maryland, and if I don’t, I probably won’t, so it really won’t matter about the administration. I think we have an opportunity at Maryland right now to really get the right people to reach our potential. That’s what I’m hoping we do because I still think we have a lot of potential.”

Friedgen said he was relieved he wasn’t named a part of the search committee to find a replacement for Debbie Yow because he’s got to focus on winning games. He said that until the university hires a president, the athletic director search won’t gain much traction.

Before Yow left for NC State, she said her expectation for Friedgen this year was to win at least seven games.

“I’m going to do the best I can do, and whatever happens, happens,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s still what the new AD is going to expect. I plan on winning seven games or more because that’s what I want to do. I’d like to go back and start winning 10 or 11 again. Right now I’m more worried about winning the first one.”

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Georgia Tech defensive end Robert Hall has been suspended for the season opener against South Carolina State as a result of his previous battery charge, coach Paul Johnson said on Monday.

"Robert has almost finished community service," Johnson said. "He has some things he has to take care of. Robert has performed everything that we have asked him to do. He will be suspended for the first game.”

This isn't a huge surprise, as it was announced in mid-June that Hall was suspended indefinitely. The Jackets can afford to miss him for the opener, but they'll need him for back-to-back road trips against Kansas and North Carolina.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Miami coach Randy Shannon said injured leading rusher Graig Cooper has been able to work out completely with his teammates this offseason, and that there's nothing he hasn't been able to do. Still, Shannon said the staff will be cautious about actually giving him the green light to play again. They want to ease him back into it.

"He's running, he's squatting, he's lifting, he's jumping," Shannon said. "He's full go at everything. Now, will that day come when he gets on the football field and plays? I don't know. That's a process that we're going to take it slow and give him certain drills to build his confidence up and get him where he needs to be at. If he's healthy, he'll play."

• Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor "would be great in our offense. We couldn't grab him in a phone booth when we played them."
• Beamer said he "wished like heck" he would have redshirted Taylor, and they tried it twice, but at the time it was in the best interest of the team not to. Barquell Rivers still hasn't been cleared to play in the Boise State game.
• Virginia coach Mike London compared Morgan Moses to a tractor trailer and said he could play right or left tackle.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Well, it looks like I'm not the only one questioning Georgia Tech's ability to defend its 2009 ACC title. But guess what, Georgia Tech fans?

We don't know what we're doing.

The media has only correctly predicted the ACC champ once in the past four years -- in 2007, when the Hokies won. Virginia Tech is a safe pick. It's an easy pick. Bud Foster's defenses always reload and this offense looks like it has the potential to be spectacular. Add that up and it's a smart pick.

I just sense it's time for a shift in the balance of power in the league. While Virginia Tech has to replace six starters on defense, Miami has some of the best depth it's had under coach Randy Shannon. While Georgia Tech is in the midst of a coordinator and scheme change, Miami finally has staff stability. While North Carolina is answering more questions about off-field distractions, Miami has finally dropped any baggage Shannon inherited.

In the Atlantic Division, Boston College is being overlooked. Again. Here's my main reason for picking the Eagles third behind Florida State and Clemson, respectively: BC still has something to prove at quarterback. Anthony Castonzo told me on Sunday that Dave Shinskie has improved tremendously, and that he made a visible leap. He's going to have to if the Eagles are going to beat the likes of Christian Ponder and Kyle Parker.

As for buying into the Florida State hype? You better believe it. Even if that defense is only marginally better -- which it should be -- the offense is talented, experienced and deep enough to put up some eye-popping numbers this fall. Heisman numbers.

Truth is, nobody can predict this league. Not you, not me, not Paul Johnson or anyone else. Not with five ranked teams and a Coastal Division comprised of four teams that can legitimately contend for the conference title this year.

Despite the overwhelming vote of confidence in Virginia Tech from the media here, it's a slim margin that separates each of these teams, which is why ACC fans should be treated to another down-to-the-wire season.

Tiebreaker scenarios, anyone? It's about the only thing you can count on in this race.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The votes are in. Virginia Tech was picked by the media to beat Florida State and win its fourth ACC title in seven seasons. FSU finished second with 26 votes, followed by Miami (10), Georgia Tech (8), Boston College (2) and North Carolina (2).

FSU quarterback Christian Ponder was voted the preseason ACC Player of the Year with 45 votes compared to 16 for Virginia Tech running back Ryan Williams.

A record 98 media members voted. The Hokies received 62 first-place votes for the Coastal Division title, and Miami had 20. Florida State was the runaway favorite for the Atlantic Division with 78 first-place votes compared to Clemson's 16.

The Hokies were also chosen by the media to win it all in 2007 and 2009.

Here are the official results:

ACC Championship votes:

1. Virginia Tech (50)
2. Florida State (26)
3. Miami (10)
4. Georgia Tech (8)
5. (tie) Boston College and UNC (2)

Atlantic Division

1. Florida State (78)
2. Clemson (16)
3. Boston College (4)
4. NC State
5. Wake Forest
6. Maryland

Coastal Division

1. Virginia Tech (62)
2. Miami (20)
3. Georgia Tech (11)
4. North Carolina (5)
5. Duke
6. Virginia

ACC Player of the Year

1. Christian Ponder (45)
2. Ryan Williams (16)
3. Tyrod Taylor (11)
4. Russell Wilson (6)
Robert Quinn (6)
6. Joshua Nesbitt (4)
7. Kyle Parker (3)
8. Mark Herzlich, Jacory Harris (2)
10. Montel Harris, Darren Evans, Bruce Carter (1)

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- There's a reversal of roles in Blacksburg this fall, where the expectations for Virginia Tech's offense are higher than that of the Hokies' traditionally stout, nationally ranked defense, which has to replace six starters.

"The offense can win games for Tech right now," quarterback Tyrod Taylor said. "That's something the offense wants to hear, but it's nothing that our defense can't do. Our defense is just as strong as any other year. It's just that we have more experience and more talent on the offensive side of the ball."

More talent? Yep, he said it. That should motivate some of his defensive teammates if film of Boise State hasn't already.

If history repeats itself, Virginia Tech's defense should have no problem reloading under defensive coordinator Bud Foster, but the more interesting storyline could be the breakout season for this usually stagnant offense. Taylor is surrounded by two 1,000-yard rushers, a talented group of wide receivers and a smaller, more athletic offensive line. He said he has made strides in his passing game, his footwork in the pocket, and reading the defenses faster. With the duo of Darren Evans and Ryan Williams drawing the attention of defenses, Taylor said he is hoping that attention will open more doors in the passing game.

"Guys are going to stack the box expecting us to run, and we have to pass," Taylor said. "It's comfortable to know you've got those guys behind you."

It will take more than just a potent offense to defeat Boise State in the Labor Day season opener. The Hokies have been watching film of the Broncos regularly, and the defense has only the summer to work out the kinks.

"We really need to prepare," said defensive tackle John Graves. "We had a great offseason. Now we're about to really kick it up to another gear. We're looking to prepare the best we can to see what happens."

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Hello again from the heart of ACC country, where the coaches will be in the spotlight today. But first, a bit of Officiating 101.

I'll be hanging out with ACC coordinator of officials Doug Rhoads at 10:30 a.m. as he goes over some rules changes and breaks down some film for reporters. My colleague Mark Schlabach, on the other hand, will be sweating it out on the golf course with Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer in the annual Marvin "Skeeter" Francis golf outing. Tough gig, I know.

The coaches' interviews don't begin until 2 p.m. Here's the lineup:

2 p.m. -3:15 p.m. ET -- Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, Maryland

3:20-4:35 p.m. -- Miami, North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech

4:40-6 p.m. -- Clemson, Florida State, NC State, Wake Forest

The 2010 predicted team order of finish will be announced at 1:30 p.m. I'm guessing I was in the minority picking the Canes this year. I expect to see Florida State and Virginia Tech as the media's overall top two picks, but we'll see.

Our preseason all-conference ballots are due at the end of the evening.

I still have more from Sunday's interviews with the athletes to share with you, and will have more videos, tweets and blog posts from the coaches today, so stay tuned. You can follow me at ESPN_ACC.

Day 1 is officially in the books.

We put it all into a nifty, one-stop shopping package for you, and there's more coming. There was more media here today than I've ever seen before. More flip-cams. More dot-coms. Radio row was buzzing.

Among several hot topics today were:

1) UNC and agents

2) Everyone else and agents

3) Mark Herzlich's return

4) First media day in eons without Bobby Bowden

5) Mike London taking over at Virginia

Most of the players were very well-spoken, and mum's the word at North Carolina regarding the NCAA investigation. Of course, we're here to talk about football, too, and some official predictions have been made. Here's what my final ballot looked like for predicted order of finish in each division:

ATLANTIC

1. Florida State
2. Clemson
3. Boston College
4. NC State
5. Wake Forest
6. Maryland

COASTAL

1. Miami
2. Virginia Tech
3. Georgia Tech
4. North Carolina
5. Duke
6. Virginia

Predicted ACC champ: Miami

Predicted ACC Player of the Year: Christian Ponder.

There you have it. The full votes from the media will be tallied tonight and released tomorrow, so check back then. The coaches' interviews begin at 2 p.m. tomorrow.

Talking with Clemson’s DeAndre McDaniel at ACC media days.

North Carolina defensive lineman Robert Quinn talks about the upcoming season, including a bold personal prediction.

After missing last season, Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich is ready to defend his 2008 ACC Defensive Player of the Year award.

ACC commissioner John Swofford talks about agents and college football.

Taking a look at how the ACC monitors its officials from the video room at league headquarters in Greensboro, N.C.