North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton collected first-team All-America honors, while NC State wideout Kevin “KC” Concepcion made the regional cover.
Those are two of the biggest highlights from our state in Phil Steele’s popular 2024 College Football Preview magazine, which just arrived at North Carolina Football News headquarters Monday.
Phil Steele has been one of the most respected college football pundits in the nation for three decades. Receiving his thick preview magazine has been a rite of summer for thousands of fans since the 1990s. This year’s glossy edition features more than 350 — absolutely packed! — pages of FBS-level coverage, including All-America and all-conference teams, power rankings and in-depth team previews.
–> To order your copy of Phil Steele’s 2024 College Football Preview, click HERE.
Hampton, from Clayton (Cleveland HS), rushed for 1,521 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2023. He joins Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon as Phil Steele first-team preseason All-America running backs.
Concepcion, the Wolfpack’s electric playmaker from Charlotte (Chambers HS), earned freshman All-America honors a year ago after making 71 catches for 839 yards and 10 TDs. He is pictured on Phil Steele’s East Coast cover along with Clemson’s Barrett Carter, Miami’s Xavier Restrepo, Florida State’s Darius Washington and Virginia Tech’s Kyron Drones.
Concepcion made Phil Steele’s third-team preseason All-America.
Four in-state players made the fourth-team All-America list: UNC tight end Bryson Nesbit from Charlotte (South Mecklenburg HS), UNC linebacker Kaimon Rucker from Hartwell, Ga., (Hart County HS), NC State cornerback Aydan White from Asheville (Christ School) and East Carolina corner Shavon Revel from Winston-Salem (Reagan HS).
More statewide highlights from Phil Steele’s latest preview magazine:
* Appalachian State is the favorite to win the Sun Belt East division, beating out Marshall, Georgia Southern and James Madison. The Mountaineers represented the East in last year’s title game, falling to Troy before winning the Cure Bowl.
“This looks like (coach Shawn) Clark’s best team,” Steele wrote. “Three of my nine sets of power rankings are calling for double-digit wins this year. They are a big-time contender for the Sun Belt crown.”
* East Carolina leads the way in this year’s Phil Steele Most Improved Teams list. The Pirates struggled to a 2-10 record a year ago. Teams that make this ranking have the highest chance of earning a better W-L record than the previous year. Per Steele’s math, about 70 percent of the Most Improved teams will become bowl eligible.
Steele likes ECU to finish among the upper echelon in the American Athletic Conference. The Pirates are picked fifth, behind UTSA, Tulane, Memphis and USF. Reigning champion SMU now plays in the ACC.
“They have an easier schedule … I expect a bowl,” Steele wrote of the Pirates.
* No North Carolina team makes the top 25 in Phil Steele’s 2024 Power Poll, a measure of who he believes are the strongest and most talented teams (not necessarily how they will finish the season). Steele ranked every FBS team, from 1-134.
NC State has the highest Power Poll ranking at No. 34, followed by North Carolina 42nd, Appalachian State 64th, Wake Forest 67th, Duke 77th, East Carolina 86th and Charlotte 110th.
* Phil Steele foresees a log jam at the top of the ACC standings. He forecast’s Clemson, Florida State and Miami in a tie for first, with NC State, SMU, Louisville and Virginia Tech tied for fourth. North Carolina is listed eighth, followed by Cal 9th, Georgia Tech and Pitt 11th, Syracuse, Wake Forest and Boston College 12th, Virginia 15th and Stanford and Duke 16th.
“NC State does avoid all the big boys except Clemson, so they have the best schedule in the ACC and that makes them a threat,” Steele wrote.
* Steele picks Charlotte to finish in a tie for 12th in the 14-team AAC, along with Tulsa. Only Temple is ranked lower.
“There are no easy AAC games on the schedule (for Charlotte) and making a bowl will be a tough task,” Steele wrote. “But this team is improved on both sides of the ball and will make some noise.”
* With Hampton and Caleb Hood leading the way, the Tar Heels have the fifth-strongest running back position group in FBS. Only Ohio State, Penn State, Oklahoma State and Liberty are ranked higher.
UNC is listed with the 14th best receiver group. Phil Steele notes the Tar Heels have “two NFL caliber TE’s in Bryson Nesbit and John Copenhaver” and six of seven wide receivers back from 2023.
* The return of White helps give NC State the 13th best defensive back position group in FBS.
* Phil Steele ranks the ACC as the third-strongest conference this season, up two spots from a year ago. The SEC ranks first, with the Big Ten second. The Sun Belt, Appalachian State’s conference, is listed sixth, while the American Athletic Conference (ECU, Charlotte) is seventh.
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