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NC State Newsstand: Wolfpack lands 7 players on Phil Steele’s Preseason All-ACC teams

image_6483441 (3)by: Noah Fleischman06/16/25fleischman_noah

As NC State inches closer to the 2025 season, media outlets around the country will begin releasing their preseason All-ACC squads. Phil Steele, who releases his annual football preview magazine each summer, named seven Wolfpack players to his preseason All-ACC teams this month.

Senior tight end Justin Joly headlined the group as a first team selection, in addition to his fourth team All-America honors that Steele bestowed upon the former UConn transfer. Redshirt senior linebacker Sean Brown, meanwhile, was the lone first team pick on the Pack’s defense. 

Senior nose tackle Brandon Cleveland was named to the second team All-ACC squad, while senior linebacker Caden Fordham, redshirt junior left tackle Jacarrius Peak and redshirt sophomore running back Hollywood Smothers earned third team honors. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Noah Rogers rounded out the group on Steele’s All-ACC fourth team.

Joly posted 43 receptions for a team-most 661 yards with four touchdowns last season as he enters the 2025 campaign as one of the top tight ends in all of college football. Brown, meanwhile, led the Pack with 96 total tackles in his first season as a full-time linebacker. 

Cleveland, who also posted his first season as a starter a year ago, logged 36 total tackles to anchor the Wolfpack’s defensive line. Smothers, who began the year as the team’s third running back, emerged as NC State’s top option in the backfield over the last six games to post 571 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 89 attempts.

Rogers, an Ohio State transfer, logged 35 receptions for 478 yards and a touchdown in his first season at NC State, highlighted by a game-saving 44-yard catch to set up the game-winning score at UNC to end the regular season.

Tweets of the day

Wolfpack sophomore Angelina Napoleon posted a blazing-fast 3,000 meter steeplechase time in the NCAA Championships this weekend.

Will Wade had some words for UNC coach Hubert Davis about his usage of forward Ven-Allen Lubin last season. 

Freshman guard Matthew Able goes in-depth at Team USA’s U-19 training camp.

Quote of the day

NC State baseball picked up its first transfer portal addition of the offseason in South Carolina right-handed pitcher Ryder Garino. He explained why he picked the Wolfpack.

“The development piece was really big for me, that’s what I was looking for in this whole process,” Garino said. “I wanted a home where I could really get to know the coaches, get a good relationship and really develop. I think Coach Chrysler was really heart-to-heart. It sounds like I’m going to get on campus and we’re going to get to work. It seems like he can really develop me.”

Today’s top headlines

Packed recruiting intel: Early buzz on NC State’s recent official visits and more

How NC State did at the NCAA Track and Field Championships: Multiple podium finishes, All-Americans

NC State commitment analysis: What 3-star CB Jordan Jackson brings to Wolfpack