Virginia Tech Football: Powell-Ryland & Peebles earn AP All-American Honors

Peebles and Powell-Ryland were both honored by the AP All-American voters.

Aug 31, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies defensive lineman Wilfried Pene (91) and Virginia Tech Hokies defensive lineman Antwaun Powell-Ryland (52) celebratione a sack against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the first half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

After receiving First-Team All-ACC Honors, Aeneas Peebles, and Antwaun Powell-Ryland earned a spot on the AP All-American Third-Team. Powell-Ryland and Peebles are the first AP All-Americans since Tremaine Edmunds' appearance on the Third Team in 2017. The pair of defensive linemen are also the first duo of Hokies to be named an AP All-American in the same year since Xavier Adibi (Third Team) and Brandon Flowers (Second Team) in 2007.

Peebles and Powell-Ryland both transferred into Blacksburg, the former coming from Duke and the latter coming from Florida. APR, as he's known, spent the last two years of his collegiate career in Blacksburg, and Peebles just spent his final year. Both players have declared for the NFL Draft, and per Brent Pry, any Virginia Tech players who have declared for the NFL Draft will not play in the Duke's Mayo Bowl, so the linemen's stats are essentially final.

Peebles recorded 31 combined tackles in his time at Virginia Tech, with 118 total tackles in his collegiate career. In 2024, he added seven tackles for loss and three sacks. He also logged three pass deflections, two of which were in the thrilling overtime game against Syracuse. In his career, he has a fumble recovery, two forced fumbles, 11.5 sacks, 21 tackles for loss, and 6 pass deflections.

Powell-Ryland has two years of stats to record at Virginia Tech, and he absolutely broke out in 2024. APR recorded 16 sacks on the year, just one sack behind national leader Mike Green. He recorded 83 tackles as a Hokie, with 34 tackles for loss. APR also has six fumble recoveries and six forced fumbles.