7 Make Athlon Preseason All-ACC Squad
6/24/2024 3:44:00 PM | Football
Seven members of the Orange were selected to Preseason All-ACC teams by Athlon's preseason magazine.
Led by a pair of first team selection – Oronde Gadsden II and Marlowe Wax, the Orange also placed LeQuint Allen, Justin Barron and Jack Stonehouse to the second team. Fadil Diggs earned third team accolades, and Trebor Pena was named the fourth-team return man.
Gadsden returns from an injury-shortened season last year hoping to replicate his 2022 season where he set program records for receptions and receiving yards by a tight end. Despite missing the last 11 games of the 2023 season, he enters the year with 70 career receptions, 1,060 yards and seven touchdowns. He was a First Team All-ACC honoree in 2022. He was previously named to Phil Steele's Preseason All-ACC Team as well.
Wax, who has already been named to the Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List and Phil Steele's Preseason All-ACC Team this preseason, has played in all-49 games since arriving on campus in 2020, including a team-best active streak of 38 consecutive starts, enters the 2024 season closing in on 300 career tackles. A Second Team All-ACC selection last season, Wax enters his final season in the top-20 of numerous Orange career record lists.
He's 19th in total tackles (294), second in forced fumbles (8), trailing only College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dwight Freeney (14), seventh in tackles for loss (36.5). He also has 16.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries, five pass breakups and a blocked kick in his 'Cuse career.
It's also the second preseason accolade for Allen, Barron and Diggs as well, having previously been named to Phil Steele's team.
Allen is coming off a 1,000-yard season in 2023. The Second Team All-ACC running back from a year ago, he posted the 12th-highest single-season rushing total in program history in 2023 (1,064). He was also the team's leading receiver with 38 receptions and scored 10 touchdowns (nine rushing).
Barron is also one of the nation's top returning tacklers. He enters the season ranked inside the top-10 nationally in active tackles, according to Pro Football Focus' tally. He is 15th in school history in tackles by a defensive back (201) and has 10.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 11 pass breakups, one interception, three forced fumbles and a pair of fumble recoveries in his career.
Diggs, one of the team's impact transfers this offseason, comes to the Orange after a stellar career at Texas A&M. He appeared in 33 games with 20 starts for the Aggies and was a two-time team captain during his time in College Station. He has 75 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks and three forced fumbles in his collegiate career.
Stonehouse was a Third Team All-ACC selection last year and produced the program's second-best net punting season in program history (44.6) … He was ranked third in the ACC and 22nd nationally in punting in 2023.
Pena was limited to just one game played in 2023 due to injury. The speedy return man averages 27.9 yards per kick return and 8.1 yards per punt return in his collegiate career. He enters this season ranked fifth among active FBS players in career kick return average.
Season Tickets for the 2024 season are available now at Cuse.com/Tickets.
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Led by a pair of first team selection – Oronde Gadsden II and Marlowe Wax, the Orange also placed LeQuint Allen, Justin Barron and Jack Stonehouse to the second team. Fadil Diggs earned third team accolades, and Trebor Pena was named the fourth-team return man.
Gadsden returns from an injury-shortened season last year hoping to replicate his 2022 season where he set program records for receptions and receiving yards by a tight end. Despite missing the last 11 games of the 2023 season, he enters the year with 70 career receptions, 1,060 yards and seven touchdowns. He was a First Team All-ACC honoree in 2022. He was previously named to Phil Steele's Preseason All-ACC Team as well.
Wax, who has already been named to the Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List and Phil Steele's Preseason All-ACC Team this preseason, has played in all-49 games since arriving on campus in 2020, including a team-best active streak of 38 consecutive starts, enters the 2024 season closing in on 300 career tackles. A Second Team All-ACC selection last season, Wax enters his final season in the top-20 of numerous Orange career record lists.
He's 19th in total tackles (294), second in forced fumbles (8), trailing only College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dwight Freeney (14), seventh in tackles for loss (36.5). He also has 16.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries, five pass breakups and a blocked kick in his 'Cuse career.
It's also the second preseason accolade for Allen, Barron and Diggs as well, having previously been named to Phil Steele's team.
Allen is coming off a 1,000-yard season in 2023. The Second Team All-ACC running back from a year ago, he posted the 12th-highest single-season rushing total in program history in 2023 (1,064). He was also the team's leading receiver with 38 receptions and scored 10 touchdowns (nine rushing).
Barron is also one of the nation's top returning tacklers. He enters the season ranked inside the top-10 nationally in active tackles, according to Pro Football Focus' tally. He is 15th in school history in tackles by a defensive back (201) and has 10.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 11 pass breakups, one interception, three forced fumbles and a pair of fumble recoveries in his career.
Diggs, one of the team's impact transfers this offseason, comes to the Orange after a stellar career at Texas A&M. He appeared in 33 games with 20 starts for the Aggies and was a two-time team captain during his time in College Station. He has 75 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks and three forced fumbles in his collegiate career.
Stonehouse was a Third Team All-ACC selection last year and produced the program's second-best net punting season in program history (44.6) … He was ranked third in the ACC and 22nd nationally in punting in 2023.
Pena was limited to just one game played in 2023 due to injury. The speedy return man averages 27.9 yards per kick return and 8.1 yards per punt return in his collegiate career. He enters this season ranked fifth among active FBS players in career kick return average.
Season Tickets for the 2024 season are available now at Cuse.com/Tickets.
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