After nearly two months of action, we have hit the de facto midpoint of the 2018 college football season. With that in mind, it seems like a good idea to released our midseason All-ACC Football roster, which is headlined by quarterback Ryan Finley.
Speaking of Finley, only two undefeated teams — Clemson and NC State — remain in the ACC, and they are set to face one another this weekend. Unsurprisingly, those two teams are well represented on this list, too.
[Quick note: It was rather challenging to assemble the defensive team; there are so many good defensive players, especially along the line, it’s almost silly.]
Offense
WR — Kelvin Harmon, NC State
- 52 targets, 33 receptions, 63.5 percent catch rate, 534 yards, 16.2 yards per catch, 2 touchdowns
WR — Olamide Zaccheaus, Virginia
- 55 targets, 36 receptions, 65.5 percent catch rate, 516 yards, 14.3 yards per catch, 6 touchdowns
WR — Damon Hazleton, Virginia Tech
- 57 targets, 29 receptions, 50.9 percent catch rate, 515 yards, 17.8 yards per catch, 5 touchdowns
AP — Greg Dortch, Wake Forest
- 71 targets, 48 receptions, 67.6 percent catch rate, 592 yards, 12.3 yards per catch, 5 touchdowns
- 15 punt returns, 203 yards, 13.5 yards per punt return, 2 touchdowns
- 11 kick returns, 257 yards, 23.4 yards per kick return
TE — Brevin Jordan, Miami
- 26 targets, 18 receptions, 69.2 percent catch rate, 208 yards, 11.6 yards per catch, 4 touchdowns
OT — Mitch Hyatt, Clemson
- Clemson: 53.1 percent Opportunity Rate, 5.7 percent Sack Rate, 50.3 percent Success Rate
OT — William Sweet, North Carolina
- Top graded OT in the ACC, per Pro Football Focus: 199 pass-blocking plays, five hurries, no sacks
OG — Parker Braun, Georgia Tech
- GT: 352.4 rushing yards per game, 60.1 percent Opportunity Rate, 54.9 Success Rate
OG — Terronne Prescod, NC State
- Top graded run blocker in the ACC, per Pro Football Focus: 90.6
C — Garrett Bradbury, NC State
- Named Midseason All-American by Pro Football Focus; NC State: 1.1 percent Sack Rate
QB — Ryan Finley, NC State
- 69.5 percent completion rate, 1,621 passing yards (324.2 per game), 8.7 yards per attempt, 12.5 yards per completion
RB — Travis Etienne, Clemson
- 761 rushing yards (126.8 per game), 11 touchdowns, 9.2 yards per carry, 60.2 percent Opportunity Rate, 9.3 Highlight Yards per Opportunity
- 23 carries of 10+ yards, 10 carries of 20+ yards and five carries of 30+ yards
RB — A.J. Dillon, Boston College
- 652 rushing yards (130.4 per game), 6 touchdowns, 6.2 yards per carry, 43.4 percent Opportunity Rate, 7.9 Highlight Yards per Opportunity
Toughest Omissions
- Jakobi Meyers, NC State WR
- Jeff Thomas, Miami AP
- Tommy Sweeney, Boston College TE
- Jordan Ellis, Virginia RB
*Target statistics, Opportunity Rate, Highlight Yards courtesy of Football Study Hall
Defense
DE — Clelin Ferrell, Clemson
- 6 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, 9.5 run stuffs, 11.6 percent defensive line Havoc Rate
DE — Zach Allen, Boston College
- 4.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 12 run stuffs; leads the ACC with 13 combined sacks and hits, per Pro Football Focus
DT — Gerald Willis II, Miami
- 13 tackles for loss, 15 run stuffs, 12.7 percent defensive line Havoc Rate, Miami’s defense with a 31.7 percent Stuff Rate
DT — Christian Wilkins, Clemson
- 5.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 11.6 percent defensive line Havoc Rate; leads the ACC in run-stop percentage (14.6 percent), per Pro Football Focus
LB — Germaine Pratt, NC State
- 9.8 tackles per game, 4.5 tackles for loss; according to Pro Football Focus, 11 pressures on 31 blitzes and has yet to allow a touchdown in pass coverage
LB — Shaq Quarterman, Miami
- 9 tackles for loss, 5.4 tackles per game, 1 forced fumble, 5 sacks; leads the ACC with 15 total QB pressures
LB — Joe Giles-Harris, Duke
- 8.3 tackles per game, 3.5 run stuffs
CB — Hamp Cheevers, Boston College
- 4 interceptions (1 touchdown return), 1.3 passes defensed per game; 20.3 opposing passer rating on plays covered by Cheevers, per Pro Football Focus
CB — Bryce Hall, Virginia
- 12 passes defensed (2 per game), 1 interception, 21.5 tackles, 2.5 run stuffs
S — Juan Thornhill, Virginia
- 3 interceptions, 1.2 passes defensed per game, 32 tackles, 2 tackles for loss
S — Jaquan Johnson, Miami
- 8.8 tackles per game, 1.5 run stuffs
Toughest Omissions
- Brian Burns, Florida State DE (this guy has been so freaking good)
- Leads all FBS edge rushers with 39 total QB pressures, per Pro Football Focus
- Wyatt Ray, Boston College DE
- Joe Jackson, Miami DE
- Dexter Lawrence, Clemson DT
- Tre Lamar, Clemson LB
- Trajan Bandy, Miami CB
- Levonta Taylor, FSU CB
- Joey Blount, Virginia S
- Lukas Denis, Boston College S
- Reggie Floyd, Virginia Tech S
*Run stuffs, Havoc Rate courtesy of Football Study Hall
Special Teams
PK — Andre Szmyt, Syracuse
- 16-of-17 FGA (94.1 percent), 30-of-30 PAT
P — Sterling Hofrichter, Syracuse
- 45.2 yards per punt, 75 percent punt efficiency (12th in the FBS)
SP — D.J. Matthews, Florida State
- 17.7 yards per punt return, 1 touchdown, 35.3 punt return yards per game, 61.5 percent punt return efficiency
*Punt efficiency courtesy of Football Study Hall
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