Phil Steele tabs three Tar Heels as Preseason First Team All-ACC selections

The Tar Heels enter a 2024 campaign filled with expectations behind quarterback Drake Maye.

Bob Donnan/USA Today Sports

North Carolina began last season with an impressive 9-1 record and in the driver's seat for a New Year's Six bowl and potentially even a College Football Playoff berth.

The Tar Heels would go on to lose their final four games, but the preseason expectations in Chapel Hill are still sky-high for 2023.

Phil Steele released his Preseason All-ACC selections on Wednesday and three Tar Heels earned first team honors.

Star quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Drake Maye found himself tabbed as the best quarterback in the ACC, while linebacker Cedric Gray and punter Ben Kiernan joined him on the First Team.

Maye was named the ACC Player of the Year in 2022 after throwing for 4,321 yards and 38 touchdowns. Maye showcased his dual-threat abilities on the ground, rushing for 698 yards and seven touchdowns.

Gray was the leading tackler for the Tar Heel defense, tallying 145 stops en route to an First Team All-ACC selection. He added on three forced fumbles, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery.

Kiernan secured Third Team All-ACC honors in 2022 with 14 punts over 50 yards and an average 46.8 yards per punt.

In addition to the three First Team selections, nine other Tar Heels were picked to preseason teams by Steele.

Linebacker Power Echols received a Second Team selection following a successful campaign in 2022. He was second on the team in tackles with 103 and will join Gray as veterans on Gene Chizik's defense once again.

Long snapper Drew Little joins Echols on the Second Team heading into his fifth and final season in Chapel Hill. He has appeared in 49 games in a Tar Heel uniform, starting since coming in as a freshman in 2019.

Wide receiver Nate McCollum and offensive lineman Corey Gaynor were both named to the Third Team, as McCollum enters his first season in Chapel Hill.

Running back Omarion Hampton and defensive lineman Myles Murphy were selected to the Preseason All-ACC Fourth Team along with transfer Devontez Walker, Alijah Huzzie, and Ryan Coe.