2018 Midseason All-ACC Football Team, Headlined by Ryan Finley and Travis Etienne

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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