NC State Lands 8 on Athlon’s 2025 Preseason All-ACC Teams

Athlon released their 2025 Preseason All-American and All-ACC Football teams, and 8 NC State players earned Preseason All-Conference honors. Senior Tight End Justin Joly was named to the 3rd Team All-American team.

1st Team

SR TE Justin Joly

Joly transferred to NC State last offseason after spending his first two seasons at UCONN. In 2024, he caught 43 passes for 661 yards and 4 touchdowns. He led the Wolfpack in receiving yards and ranked 2nd in both receptions and touchdown receptions. His PFF grade was 70.5, which ranked 7th on the Wolfpack offense. Joly had the 2nd-most receiving yards among tight ends in the ACC last season.

2nd Team

SR DL Brandon Cleveland

RS SR LB Sean Brown

RS JR OT Jacarrius Peak

RS SO RB Hollywood Smothers

This past year was Cleveland’s first year in a starting role, and he didn’t disappoint. He was the 5th highest graded player on the Wolfpack defense according to PFF, with a grade of 73.4. Cleveland also had the 4th best Run Defense grade (73.4).

Cleveland finished the 2024 season with 36 tackles and 4 tackles for loss.

Brown led NC State in tackles last season (96), and ranked 2nd (tied) in tackles for loss (9), 3rd in sacks (3), 2nd (tied) in forced fumbles (2) and 1st in fumble recoveries (3). He served as a Captain for the Wolfpack last year.

Peak’s PFF Overall Grade of 78.7 was the 2nd highest grade on NC State’s Offense. He was the Wolfpack’s best run blocking Offensive Lineman, with a grade of 75.7. Peak’s 54 pancake blocks ranked 2nd on the team.

Smothers led the Wolfpack with 571 rushing yards and 6 rushing touchdowns last season. His average of 6.4 yards per carry ranks 6th in NC State history for a single season. Smothers also had 19 receptions for 263 yards and 2 touchdown receptions. His PFF Overall Grade of 80.5 was the best on NC State’s Offense.

3rd Team

RS SO WR Noah Rogers

RS SR OG Anthony Carter Jr.

Rogers had 35 receptions for 478 yards and a touchdown in Year 1 in Raleigh. He ranked 3rd on the team in receptions, and 2nd in receiving yards.

Carter Jr. enters his final year as the most experienced player on the Wolfpack Offensive Line, having played 1,773 career snaps and in 34 games. He has been a starter for the Pack for the past two seasons. In 2024, Carter Jr. had his best season to-date, posting a PFF Overall Grade of 69.0, which was up 15.5 points from the year before.

4th Team

RS SR LB Caden Fordham

Fordham only played in 6 games this past season before suffering a season ending injury. Prior to that, he not only was leading NC State in tackles, but also led the ACC. In 6 games, Fordham had 48 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 1 sack and 2 pass breakups in his first year as a starter.