NASHVILLE – Virginia Tech LB Rayshard Ashby, P Oscar Bradburn, T Christian Darrisaw, CB Caleb Farley and PR Tayvion Robinson were named to the Athlon Preseason All-ACC First Team. In total, the Hokies garnered 13 overall preseason selections from Athlon, the most of any ACC Coastal Division squad.
The full Athlon Preseason Team can be viewed here:
https://athlonsports.com/college-football/acc-football-2020-all-conference-team
Ashby (5-10, 237) was named ACC Linebacker of the Week five times last season. The Chesterfield, Virginia native was the only defensive player in the league to win that many ACC POW honors in 2019. Ashby was a second-team All-ACC selection and finished third in the voting for ACC Defensive Player of the Year last season. He led the ACC with 120 total tackles in 2019. He led the Hokies with 17.0 TFL and was second on the team with 5.0 sacks on the season.
Bradburn (6-1, 221) earned All-ACC honorable mention accolades in 2019 after being named a third-team All-ACC selection in 2018. A semifinalist for The Ray Guy Award, he finished third in the ACC with a 46.5-yard gross punting average, setting a Tech single-season record. The Sydney, Australia native owns 21 punts of 50+ yards and 22 punts inside the 20. He also forced 22 fair catches while suffering only seven touchbacks. Bradburn was named the ACC Specialist of the Week following Tech's 36-14 victory over No. 22 Wake Forest.
Darrisaw (6-5, 311) started 13 games at left tackle for Tech in 2019 after opening 12 contests at that position as a true freshman. The Upper Marlboro, Maryland native helped jumpstart Tech's rushing game in the regular season's final eight games as the Hokies averaged 184.4 rushing ypg & scored 17 rushing TDs over that span.
Farley (6-2, 207) has blossomed into one of the ACC's top cornerbacks in just his second season playing that position after serving as a high school quarterback. A first-team All-ACC pick, he led the ACC with 16 passes defensed & ranks fourth in the nation averaging 1.5 passes defensed per game. He tied for second in the ACC with four INTs and registered a 17-yard INT return TD in a 45-0 shutout of Georgia Tech (11/16). The Hickory, N.C. native posted a career-high four passes defensed in a 43-41 six-OT win vs. North Carolina (10/19).
Robinson (5-10, 186) was selected to Athlon's preseason first-team squad as a punt returner. He was rated by PFF College as the highest-graded true freshman punt returner (83.0) in the nation and the eighth-highest overall among players with at least 10 punt returns, earning PFF College All-Freshman Team honors as a punt returner. A former high school quarterback at Cox High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia, he ran back 12 punts for 174 yards, good for an average of 14.5 yards per return, the nation's 10th-best mark using the above threshold.
Other Athlon preseason selections for the Hokies include:
Second-Team Offense
T Lecitus Smith
Second-Team Defense
CB Jermaine Waller
Third-Team Offense
WR Tre Turner
Fourth-Team Offense
TE James Mitchell
Fourth-Team Defense
DT DaShawn Crawford
LB Dax Hollifield
CB Chamarri Conner
Fourth-Team Specialists
K Brian Johnson