Eleven Hokies have been honored by Phil Steele on preseason teams.
College football analyst Phil Steele has released his preseason All-ACC and All-American lists entering the 2024 college football season, recognizing several Hokies.
Bhayshul Tuten earned a first team All-ACC nod as a kick returner and third team All-American. Quarterback Kyron Drones was named to the All-ACC second team along with Aeneas Peebles at defensive tackle and Antwaun Powell-Ryland at defensive end. APR was named to the fourth team All-American squad. Special teamers Peter Moore and Tucker Holloway also earned second team honors at punter and returner respectively. Cornerback Dorian Strong was named to the third team along with kicker John Love. Linebacker Keli Lawson, receiver Da’Quan Felton and center Kaden Moore earned fourth team honors.
Tuten rushed for 863 yards on 173 attempts, and 10 touchdowns in 2023, while averaging 5.0 yards per carry. He also caught 27 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns. The New Jersey product made a huge impact in the return game, returning 19 kicks for 550 yards and two touchdowns and was one of five FBS players to record two-plus kick return TDs.
Drones started 11 games last season, throwing for 2,085 yards and 17 TDs to just three interceptions. He led the team in rushing with 818 yards (5 TDs). The redshirt junior threw 160 passes at one point without an interception.
Powell-Ryland is coming off a season in which he registered 40 tackles (23 solo) and tallied 9.5 sacks, ranking second in the ACC and tied for 14th in the country. The Portsmouth, Virginia native recorded 14.5 TFLs, ranking 24th in the country, fifth in the ACC. APR became the fourth Virginia Tech defensive player to finish a game with 4.0 or more sacks (4.0, 29 yards) against Wake Forest (Oct. 14), joining JC Price, Bruce Smith and Morgan Roane.
Peebles arrives in Blacksburg from Duke where he co-led the Blue Devils in TFLs (8.5) and ranked second on the team in sacks (4.0) in 2023. He registered 40 tackles (11 solo), four quarterback hurries, two pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery last season.
Moore punted 60 times in 2023 for 2,588 yards, averaging 43.1 yards per punt. Nineteen punts went for 50+ yards while 17 were downed inside the 20-yard line.
Holloway returned 20 punts for a total of 258 yards last season. His average punt return yardage of 12.9 ranked 7th in the country.
Strong is just the second FBS cornerback since 2014 with 300+ coverage snaps to give up less than 10 receptions and less than 100 yards receiving in a season. He tallied 25 tackles (18 solo) while registering eight pass breakups in 11 passes defended with three interceptions.
Love had a breakout season in 2023 converting 22 of his 24 field goal attempts. His 91.7 percentage ranked sixth in the country. The redshirt sophomore was a perfect 47 of 47 on extra points.
Felton tallied 38 receptions for a team-leading 667 yards and eight touchdowns last season.
Moore made the move to center in 2023, playing 857 snaps, allowing just one sack.
Lawson led the team with 80 tackles (39 solo) in 2023. He tallied 7 TFLs, including 2.5 sacks and also registered one interception, six pass breakups, four QB hurries and a forced fumble.
Virginia Tech Athletics
