Notre Dame's Aaron Banks, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah garner preseason All-ACC accolades

One of Notre Dame football’s few benevolent souvenirs of the COVID-19 pandemic showed up Friday, with senior offensive guard Aaron Banks and senior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah being named to the preseason All-Atlantic Coast Conference team.

The Irish are temporary, one-season full members of the ACC in football for 2020 in a scheduling arrangement coaxed by the pandemic. Because of that, ND’s players are eligible this season for preseason and postseason league honors.

And Notre Dame, heretofore a football independent, is eligible to play for an ACC championship. ND’s original 12-game schedule included six ACC teams on it. Its modified 11-game slate features 10 ACC teams, beginning with the Sept. 12 season opener with Duke at Notre Dame Stadium.

A total of 134 ACC media members, including those who cover ND, voted Banks and Owusu-Koramoah onto an All-ACC team that includes a league-high five Clemson players.

That same panel picked the Tigers to finish first in the ACC on all but two of the 134 ballots. Notre Dame is picked to finish second, followed by North Carolina, Louisville and Virginia Tech.

The Irish and Clemson, the nation’s No. 1 team in the preseason AP poll, meet Nov. 7 at Notre Dame Stadium. ND was 10th in the AP poll, which included teams that won’t compete in fall football this season.

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence was the overwhelming selection for preseason ACC Player of the Year, garnering 100 votes. The only other conference player who received more than one POY vote was Lawrence’s teammate, Tigers running back Travis Etienne (30).

ND quarterback Ian Book received a single vote.

2020 All-ACC Preseason Football Team

(Total votes in parenthesis)

Offense

WR – Tamorrion Terry, Florida State (100)

WR – Tutu Atwell, Louisville (96)

WR – Dazz Newsome, North Carolina (75)

TE – Brevin Jordan, Miami (77)

AP – Michael Carter, North Carolina (82)

OT – Jackson Carman, Clemson (64)

OT – Ben Petrula, Boston College (61)

OG – Zion Johnson, Boston College (78)

OG – Aaron Banks, Notre Dame (34)

C – Jimmy Morrissey, Pitt (80)

QB – Trevor Lawrence, Clemson (131)

RB – Travis Etienne, Clemson (133)

RB – Javian Hawkins, Louisville (80)

Defense

DE – Carlos Basham Jr., Wake Forest (89)

DE – Patrick Jones II, Pitt (37)

DT – Marvin Wilson, Florida State (108)

DT – Tyler Davis, Clemson (75)

LB – Chazz Surratt, North Carolina (106)

LB – Rayshard Ashby, Virginia Tech (66)

LB – Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Notre Dame (47)

CB – Asante Samuel Jr., Florida State (90)

CB – Derion Kendrick, Clemson (85)

S – Paris Ford, Pitt (62)

S – Hamsah Nasirildeen, Florida State (56)

Special Teams

PK – Nick Sciba, Wake Forest (69)

P – Trenton Gill, NC State (43)

SP – Damond Philyaw-Johnson, Duke (48)

ACC Player of the Year

1. Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson – 100

2. Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson – 30

3. Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina – 1

4. Chazz Surratt, LB, North Carolina – 1

5. Ian Book, QB, Notre Dame – 1

6. Carlos Basham Jr., DE, Wake Forest – 1