The first two are what the outside world has seen, and is probably driving this:

(1) undeniable athleticism.

(2) enough “highlight” plays on defense as a frosh to generate some buzz.

And more under the radar, but perhaps more important:

(3) Defensive MVP this past spring.

The man truly had an amazing performance this spring, and seems to have a skill-set that is tailor-made for the zone D we’ll be running. While I doubt most national journalists aren’t going to be familiar with point #3, perhaps a quote or two from Jimbo re: his spring performance reached someone’s ears that made the case to insert him in there as a darkhorse breakout performer.

Don’t know how many honorable mentions are included for each position, but this would mean he has at least 6 guys in front of him for the 1st/2nd/3rd team — so that places him as maybe the 2nd or 3rd best CB in the ACC. it’s certainly an optimistic prediction… but what’s the point of speculating on a preseason list if you’re not going to take any risks?

Both awesome.

But putting Mallett as the first team qb is just silly