Nine Eagles Tabbed Preseason All-ACC by Athlon Sports

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Athlon Sports released its 2021 Preseason All-ACC teams and nine Boston College football players were selected, including three first-team picks.

Junior Zay Flowers was named to Athlon's All-ACC first-team as a wide receiver and all-purpose player. Two offensive linemen were also tabbed to Athlon's All-ACC first-team in Alec Lindstrom and Zion Johnson.

Offensive linemen Ben Petrula and Tyler Vrabel were named to Athlon's All-ACC second-team while defensive lineman Marcus Valdez and punt returner Jaelen Gill were named to the third team.

Quarterback Phil Jurkovec and cornerback Josh DeBerry rounded out the Athlon All-ACC selections on the fourth team.

Flowers put together one of the best seasons by a BC wide receiver ever in 2020. An All-ACC first-team selection, Flowers was just the second BC wide receiver to be named first-team All-ACC in school history (Alex Amidon, 2012). He finished 18th nationally and second in the ACC with 892 yards receiving, ranked 26^th nationally with 56 receptions and tied for 12th nationally with nine touchdown receptions.

Lindstrom was just the second Boston College center to garner All-ACC first-team honors last season, joining Andy Gallik (2014). He was one of three players to take all 785 offensive snaps in 2020. He was part of a unit that started all 11 games together and held up for the third-ranked passing attack in the ACC at 284.2 yards per game.

Johnson is coming off a 2020 season in which he was named to the All-ACC third-team at offensive tackle. The Maryland native graded out as BC's top offensive lineman in 2020 after moving from left guard to left tackle in the preseason. BC's offensive line ranked No. 21 as a group according to Pro Football Focus last year.

In 2020, Petrula was named to the All-ACC second-team for the second time in his career after earning second-team accolades at offensive tackle. Petrula played 778 of 785 offensive snaps (99.1%) in 2020 and was a key part of an offensive line that allowed just 2.55 sacks per game, which ranked sixth in the ACC.

Vrabel was named All-ACC honorable mention for the second time in his career as a sophomore. He moved from left tackle, where he started 13 games in 2019, to right tackle in 2020. Vrabel was one of three players to take all 785 offensive snaps last season as he started all 11 games for the Eagles.

Valdez started all 11 games for the Eagles in 2020 at defensive end. He finished the year with 37 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, three quarterback hurries and two fumble recoveries.

Gill was a starter at wide receiver for the Eagles in 2020 and also led the team in punt returns (8.7 yards per return). In 11 games with seven starts, Gill finished the year with 29 receptions for 435 yards and one touchdown.

Jurkovec was the starter in all 10 games he played in at quarterback last year. His 2,558 passing yards over his first 10 starts were the most by any BC quarterback in school history. Jurkovec was the first player in BC history to total four, 300-yard passing games in his first five career starts at quarterback and the first BC quarterback with four or more 300-yard games in a season since Matt Ryan (2007).

The Pittsburgh native finished 26^th nationally with 255.8 passing yards per game and ended the season completing 61 percent of his passes and throwing 18 touchdown passes (30^th nationally). He was second among all Boston College quarterbacks since 1996 with 255.8 yards per game, trailing only Matt Ryan's 321.9 yards per game in 2007.

DeBerry had a breakout 20202 campaign and earned All-ACC honorable mention honors for the first time in his career. He played 592 defensive snaps (76.7%) at corner or nickel. He was second on the team with six pass breakups and third with 44 tackles. One of the most disruptive defensive backs in the ACC, DeBerry added two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception in 2020.

Boston College returns 20 starters in 2021. The Eagles open the year on Saturday, Sept. 4 at Alumni Stadium vs. Colgate. Season tickets are now on sale via BCEagles.com.

Nine Eagles Tabbed Preseason All-ACC by Athlon Sports

Players Mentioned

Josh DeBerry

Zay Flowers

Jaelen Gill

Zion Johnson

Phil Jurkovec

Alec Lindstrom

Ben Petrula

Marcus Valdez

Tyler Vrabel

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