FSU Well Represented On Phil Steele Preseason Teams

By Derek Satterfield, Seminoles.com

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State has 12 representatives on Phil Steele’s preseason All-ACC teams released this week.

The group is led by junior defensive tackle Marvin Wilson. The Houston native earned second-team All-America honors and first-team All-ACC recognition, continuing his ascent among the best interior linemen in the nation. Wilson recorded 42 tackles, including 4.5 for loss with 3.5 sacks, four quarterback hurries, two pass breakups and one forced fumble last season on his way to honorable mention All-ACC honors and the team’s Bobby Bowden Leadership Award. He ended the season with consecutive career-best tackles totals, posting seven against Boston College and No. 13 Florida. Those totals bettered his previous best of six set at No. 17 Miami.

The second-team All-ACC includes wide receiver Tamorrion Terry, linebackers Dontavious Jackson and Hamsah Nasirildeen and defensive back Jaiden Lars-Woodbey.

Terry burst onto the scene as a redshirt freshman last season, leading the team with an FSU freshman-record 744 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on 35 receptions to become only the fourth freshman in program history to lead FSU in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Jackson enters his senior year after recording 75 tackles, including 7.0 for loss with 1.0 sack, three pass breakups, one forced fumble, one interception and one quarterback hurry. He twice made a career-high 14 tackles, becoming the first Seminole since 2001 with multiple 14-tackle games in the same season.

Nasirildeen led FSU and ranked 10th in the ACC with 91 tackles, including 0.5 for loss, and added one interception, two pass breakups and one quarterback hurry.

Lars-Woodbey showcased his immense potential, starting all 12 games as a true freshman and earning Freshman All-America honors after recording 58 tackles, including 4.5 for loss with 1.0 sack, eight pass breakups, three quarterback hurries and one forced fumble.

Running back Cam Akers, who after two seasons ranks 18th in program history with 1,730 career rushing yards, was a third-team selection. Last season he led FSU with 706 rushing yards and 866 all-purpose yards, and his three 50-yard runs were third in the ACC. Quarterback James Blackman, wide receiver D.J. Matthews and tight end Tre’ McKitty rounded out the All-ACC selections on offense by appearing on the fourth team. Blackman, who redshirted the 2018 season after appearing in four games, threw for a career-high 421 yards, the 15th-best single-game performance in program history, and four touchdowns on 29-of-46 passing in his one start at North Carolina State. McKitty made 26 receptions for 256 yards and two touchdowns, posting the fourth-highest catch total among ACC tight ends and ranking 12th on FSU’s single-season list for catches by a tight end, and his 11.6 yards per catch on third down led all ACC tight ends with at least 10 targets. Matthews caught 42 passes for 382 yards and one touchdown in 2018, totals that included a career-high 133 yards and one touchdown on a career-best 10 catches at North Carolina State.

The fourth-team defense includes defensive ends Joshua Kaindoh and Janarius Robinson as well as defensive back Asante Samuel, Jr. Kaindoh totaled 19 tackles, 4.5 for loss with 3.0 sacks, four quarterback hurries and one pass breakup in 2018, numbers boosted by a season-best five solo stops at No. 3 Notre Dame. Robinson made eight starts in his sophomore season, registering 27 tackles, including 3.0 for loss with 1.0 sack, four quarterback hurries and one pass breakup. Samuel appeared in all 12 games as a true freshman and started three of the last four, finishing the year with a team-best nine pass breakups, tied for third among ACC freshmen, and 17 tackles, including 1.0 for loss.

Florida State opens its 2019 season against Boise State in Jacksonville on Aug. 31.