extol (someone or something) as (something)

To highlight and praise the positive aspects of someone or something by depicting it or them as having a certain quality or fulfilling a certain role. After he made that sizable donation, we extolled him as the savior of the program. Of course she extols Sam as the greatest person to ever live—she has a massive crush on him! I felt a bit uncomfortable when the moderator extolled me as the "voice of a generation."

extoll the virtues of (someone or something)

To highlight and praise the positive aspects of someone or something. My mother is always extolling the virtues of meditation, but it just doesn't do anything for me. I always extoll the virtues of sleep because I know that, when my sleep is out of whack, my anxiety worsens exponentially. Mindy extolled the virtues of this record, that's why I bought it. But I'm not all that impressed.