No. 13. Shawn Powell, P, Florida State
2011 stats: He led the nation with a single-season school-record average of 47.04 yards per punt (57 punts for 2,681 yards). He had 24 punts of 50 or more yards and 23 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. He forced seven fair catches and finished his career as FSU’s all-time leader with a 44.2 average (168-7,424).
Previous ranking: Not ranked.
Making the case for Powell: That’s right, there’s a punter on this list. In the top 15, no less. And he deserves it. Powell ranks fifth all-time in the ACC for career punting average, and he became the first ACC punter to lead the nation in both overall and net punting since Ryan Plackemeier of Wake Forest in 2005. He didn’t have a punt blocked in 168 career attempts, and he was the program’s first consensus All-American punter. His impact on defense and field position was invaluable, especially considering how the offense struggled.
No. 14 Zach Brown, LB, North Carolina
No. 15 Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina
No. 16 Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech
No. 17 Sean Spence, LB, Miami
No. 18 Zebrie Sanders, OT, Florida State
No. 19 Joe Vellano, DT, Maryland
No. 20 Lamar Miller, RB, Miami
No. 21 Chris Givens, WR, Wake Forest
No. 22 Terrell Manning, LB, NC State
No. 23 Matt Conrath, DT, Virginia
No. 24 Omoregie Uzzi, RG, Georgia Tech
No. 25 Brandon Jenkins, DE, Florida State
