Quin Blanding leads seven UVA football players with preseason honors from Phil Steele

Phil Steele released his Preseason All-America and All-ACC teams today (June 1). Seven Cavaliers were mentioned on his preseason All-ACC team, while sophomore free safety Quin Blanding was named a fourth-team preseason All-American.

Blanding (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Maurice Canady (Richmond, Va.) were named to Phil Steele’s All-ACC first team.  Ian Frye (Bristol, Va.) was named to the second team, while Andrew Brown (Chesapeake, Va.), Ross Burbank (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Eric Smith (Decatur, Ga.) all earned preseason third-team honors.  David Dean (Virginia Beach, Va.) rounds out the UVa honorees with fourth-team accolades.

Blanding was the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2014 after finishing the regular season No. 2 in the ACC with 123 tackles, while also leading the nation’s freshmen. Blanding also was named Scout.com’s National Defensive Rookie of the Year, while also earning numerous Freshman All-American distinctions from various outlets, including by Phil Steele.

Cornerback Canady was a second-team All-ACC performer in 2014 after making 37 tackles, breaking up 12 passes and recording three interceptions. His 12 pass breakups ranked No. 2 in the ACC.

Placekicker Frye was a Lou Groza Award semifinalist and a second-team All-ACC performer in 2014 after finishing the regular season No. 2 in the ACC and No. 6 in the nation with 22 field goals. His 22 field goals rank No. 2 all-time in UVa history for makes in a season.

Defensive tackle Brown saw time in six games during his first collegiate season after getting healthy from preseason injuries. He recorded four tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. Brown was a preseason Phil Steele fourth-team All-ACC honoree last year.

Offensive linemen Burbank and Smith recorded 23 combined starts on the offensive line between them in 2014. Burbank started 11 games at center and Smith started all 12 games at right tackle.  The duo helped UVa accumulate 500 yards of total offense in back-to-back games (BYU and Kent State) for the first time since 2004.

Defensive tackle Dean earned honorable mention All-ACC honors from the media and third-team recognition from the ACC coaches in 2014.  He was a key cog in the middle of UVa’s defensive front seven that ranked No. 20 nationally in defending the run (120.7). A captain in 2015, Dean tallied 40 tackles and 8.0 tackles for loss in 2014.