Virginia Tech Football: Four Hokies Scattered In Phil Steele All-ACC Preseason Teams

With the 2025-26 season coming soon around the corner, now is the time for a number of top outlets to release their preseason selections, most recently, it was Phil Steele who announced his ACC preseason team.

A total of four Hokies made the list including, tight end Benji Gosnell, who was selected in the fourth team, offensive tackle Tomas Rimac was placed in the second team, linebacker Caleb Woodson was chosen to the fourth team, and lastly kicker John Love to the second team,

Overall, this feels relatviely fair, considering the talent all four of these produce, Rimac is expected to be an elite ACC offensive lineman, in his first year as a Hokie, Gosnell has been a favorite among Tech fans since his arrival breakout 2023 campaign. Woodson has emerged as dark horse contender having previously been selected to the Athlon Sports All-ACC Preseason Team. Love is one of the nation's most accurate kickers, so to see him involved is of little shock.

Below is a report on each Hokie.

Benji Gosnell

Last year Gosnell racked in 32 receptions for 341 yards and two touchdowns. Earlier this offseason, tight end coach Brent Davis spoke with the media over what Gosnell has improved on and where he still needs fixing up.

"I think just fundamentally in the run game, he continues to challenge himself to get better. um and that's one thing we made a goal as a group is to just become more physical, and more dominant in the run game, and to do that, you gotta play with good fundamentals. So we work really hard on that, and I think, you know, he's taking that upon himself, but really checks himself on that daily. Then another thing I would say is just continue to work on his conditioning, where he can you know, we can leave him in the game and he can get into a groove and...That's something he can do as we get into the offseason and the summer."

Tomas Rimac

Rimac comes to Southwest Virginia as a redshirt senior, automatically slotting in as a star for the Hokies' offensive front, which saw the Hokies lose the likes of eight offensive linemen.

According to Pro Football Focus, last season Rimac played 937 total snaps at left guard this past season and finished with a 77.1 overall offensive grade, including a very good 86.3 run-blocking grade. He finished with a 63.4 grade in 690 snaps in 2023 and a 68.9 grade in 440 snaps in 2022. He should be a plug-and-play starter.

Caleb Woodson

Woodson took a big leap from his freshman to sophomore year. The Haymarket, VA, native totaled 72 tackles, including 7,5 tackles for loss and two sacks, with an interception against Duke in late November. Steele sees Woodson as someone who can eat up tackles and marshal the middle of the field very well. A fourth-team nomination for a junior could mean something even better heading into his fifth season.

John Love

The redshirt junior established himself as a consistent utility for, at times, a struggling Virginia Tech offense. Love has twice finished inside the All-ACC Honorable Mention team. Love marked 16-18 from his field goal attempts last season, and finished the year with a perfect 42-42 from PATs.

Love tallied a 57-yard field goal against the Miami Hurricanes last season, exhibiting his ability to tick the desired boxes of a high-level kicker in collegiate football.

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