Miami’s tattooed, terrific punter and standout safety named to preseason All-ACC team

Hurricanes fans know them both well, and both were honored Tuesday when the Atlantic Coast Conference announced its All-ACC Preseason Football Team.

Australian punter Lou Hedley, a tattoo-covered, 6-4, 225-pound redshirt junior regarded as the top returning punter in the nation, joined 6-3, 204-pound redshirt junior safety Bubba Bolden on the team.

Miami quarterback D’Eriq King was runner-up in the ACC Preseason Player of the Year voting, but the winner, North Carolina junior quarterback Sam Howell, won that honor in a landslide.

King received 11 votes for ACC Preseason Player of the Year, while Howell garned 114.

Preseason honors were awarded through a vote of 147 media members.

Hedley, a native of Mandurah, Australia, has been a gem since he began playing for Miami in 2019. Hedley was one of three national finalists for the Ray Guy Award in 2020, and had the Hurricanes ranked No. 1 in the nation in net punting at 44.9 net yards a punt. He ranked second in the nation in FBS punting at 47.2 yards a punt.

Bolden, who was a semifinalist last year for the Thorpe Award, was selected to the preseason watch list Monday. Bolden led the Hurricanes with 74 tackles last season. He also is a preseason candidate for the Chuck Bednarik Award that goes to the nation’s top defensive player.

Later Tuesday, Bolden was named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy preseason watch list. The trophy is another that awards the top defensive player in the nation.

▪ Two Hurricanes were named Tuesday to the Outland Trophy preseason watch list. Those honors went to 6-5, 316-pound second-year sophomore Zion Nelson and 6-6, 310-pound seventh-year senior Jarrid Williams.

Nelson, from Sumter, South Carolina, is projected as a first-round NFL Draft pick in 2022.