Miami placed seven players in nine positions on the 2026 preseason All-ACC football team, the highest total for any program in the conference.
The Hurricanes claimed one-third of the 27 spots selected by 188 media members at ACC Football Kickoff, according to the ACC’s official release. Wide receiver Malachi Toney accounted for three of Miami’s selections, while quarterback Darian Mensah, running back Mark Fletcher Jr., guard Samson Okunlola, defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr., linebacker Mohamed Toure and safety Bryce Fitzgerald each earned one.
Miami’s preseason All-ACC selections
- Darian Mensah, quarterback — 112 votes
- Mark Fletcher Jr., running back — 127 votes
- Malachi Toney, wide receiver — 164 votes
- Malachi Toney, all-purpose player — 94 votes
- Samson Okunlola, guard — 53 votes
- Ahmad Moten Sr., defensive tackle — 126 votes
- Mohamed Toure, linebacker — 64 votes
- Bryce Fitzgerald, safety — 86 votes
- Malachi Toney, specialist — 104 votes
Toney received more votes at receiver than any player received at any position. His 164 led Clemson linebacker Sammy Brown’s 139, and his three selections cover the full range of how Miami used him during his record-setting freshman season. He can change a game as a primary receiver, a runner or a returner, so the ballot treated those jobs as separate sources of value.
Toney did not appear on the preseason player of the year ballot because voters could choose only from nominees submitted by each school, according to David Teel of The Virginian-Pilot. Miami’s nominee, Mensah, won that award with 97 votes. The quarterback also took the All-ACC spot at his position with 112 votes, giving Miami the league’s projected top player and its first-team quarterback.
Fletcher and Moten produced two more of Miami’s strongest vote totals. Fletcher’s 127 votes led the running backs, and Moten’s 126 topped the defensive tackles. Their placement gives the Hurricanes a preseason anchor on both sides of the line of scrimmage: Fletcher as the offense’s power runner and Moten as the interior defender opponents must account for before a play reaches the second level.
Okunlola’s selection matters because he is the offensive lineman charged with helping Miami turn its collection of skill talent into a functional offense. Mensah, Fletcher and Toney occupy the glamour positions, but their production will depend on whether the Hurricanes can protect a new quarterback and create clean running lanes against a nine-game ACC schedule.
The defensive choices form a similar spine. Moten represents the front, Toure the second level and Fitzgerald the secondary. Miami did not merely collect votes at one deep position; it placed a player in each layer of the defense. The balanced representation is a stronger roster signal than a list concentrated around one unit.
Virginia and Clemson finished next with four players apiece, Teel reported. Miami’s seven-player group therefore created a clear gap over the rest of the league before Toney’s extra two positions expanded the final count to nine.
The all-conference team reinforces the two major preseason votes already attached to Miami. The Hurricanes were picked to win the ACC with 165 of 188 first-place votes, and Mensah was named the conference’s preseason player of the year. The individual ballot now shows why voters gave Miami such a wide advantage in the team race.
Preseason recognition cannot settle position battles, protect Mensah or produce a stop in November. It does establish the standard. Miami enters August with the ACC’s most decorated projected lineup, and every part of the roster now carries evidence that conference voters expect the Hurricanes to finish the job.
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