Four NC State athletes make All-ACC first team, Drake Thomas snubbed
The ACC released its all-conference teams Tuesday evening, recognizing a total of 12 NC State athletes. Four members of the Pack made the first team, highlighted by center Grant Gibson, who had 75 more votes than the second team choice.
Cornerback Aydan White, guard Chandler Zavala and placekicker Christopher Dunn all featured on the first team next to Gibson. This is each of their first times receiving the honor. White, who finished second in the ACC in interceptions with 4, shut down his side of the field all year. He was the only cornerback to receive more than 100 votes.
Subscribe to The Wolfpacker today with our limited-time $10 deal for premium access until 8/31/23
Including Dunn on the list was an easy choice, as the graduate student set the ACC career scoring record against North Carolina last weekend. He only missed 1 field goal all fall and finished the year 24 for 25 on field goals and 30 for 30 on extra points. After recording 12 points in the victory over the Tar Heels, Dunn was named ACC Specialist of the Week for the second time this year. The kicker is also a finalist for the Lou Groza award.
Prior to his injury, Gibson was one of the top centers nationally and provided a stabilizing presence to the Wolfpack offensive line. Zavala returned for his sixth season of college football this year and did not disappoint, and he made the first team after tying with Marcus Minor with 119 votes.
Drake Thomas was a notable omission from the first team. Not only did The Wolfpacker vote for him there, he was also the publication’s pick for ACC defensive player of the year. He led NC State with 90 total tackles and finished first in the entire conference with 15 tackles for loss. The linebacker also recorded a whopping 23 quarterback hurries and was 8 votes short of a first-team selection.
Tanner Ingle joined Thomas on the second team after finishing second on the Wolfpack in tackles and also recording 2 interceptions. Cory Durden secured a third team selection after making 23 total tackles, including 2.5 for loss.
Here’s the full list of NC State athletes to make the all conference team:
1st team-
-Grant Gibson
-Chandler Zavala
-Aydan White
-Christopher Dunn
2nd team-
-Drake Thomas
-Tanner Ingle
3rd team-
– Cory Durden
Honorable mentions-
-Thayer Thomas
-Tim McKay
-Isaiah Moore
-Payton Wilson
-Tyler Baker-Williams
