Clemson leads 2019 All-ACC Football Team

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Four-time defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion Clemson leads the 2019 All-ACC Football Team announced on Tuesday.

The Tigers placed a total of 16 players on the first, second and third teams. Pitt and Wake Forest followed with eight selections each, while Boston College and North Carolina each filled seven spots.

A voting panel of 46 media members and the league’s 14 head coaches cast ballots for the 2019 All-ACC Football Teams, with three points awarded for each first-team vote, two points for each second-team vote and one point for each third-team selection.

Clemson junior running back Travis Etienne, who has rushed for 1,386 yards this season and became the ACC career leader in touchdowns scored with 57, led the balloting with 176 total points. Tigers teammate Isaiah Simmons led all defensive players with 157 points at one of the first-team linebacker spots. NCAA record-setting kicker Nick Sciba of Wake Forest and Virginia kick returner Joe Reed each amassed 156 points to earn spots as first-team specialists.

Virginia’s Reed was a dual first-team selection, as he also led the voting at the all-purpose back position. Louisville’s Hassan Hall was a similar dual choice as second-team all-purpose and third-team specialist.

This year’s All-ACC team also features an offensive/defensive first-team brother combination as Wake Forest’s Sage Surratt was the leading vote-getter among wide receivers, and North Carolina linebacker Chazz Surratt placed second behind Simmons in the balloting at his position. They are the first brothers to earn All-ACC first team honors in the same season since Virginia identical twins Tiki Barber (running back) and Ronde’ Barber (cornerback) in 1995 and 1996.

Etienne is joined in the All-ACC first-team backfield by Clemson sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence (2,870 yards passing, 30 touchdowns and a .686 completion percentage) and Boston College junior running back AJ Dillon, the ACC’s leading rusher with 1,685 yards.

Etienne and Dillon were also first-team selections in 2018, while Lawrence earned a spot on the second team.

Wake Forest’s Surratt (66 catches for 1,001 yards and 11 touchdowns while playing only nine games) is joined on the first-team wide receiving corps by Clemson junior Tee Higgins (an ACC-leading 20.9 yards per reception, 10 touchdowns) and Louisville sophomore Tutu Atwell (61 catches for an ACC-leading 1,129 yards and 12 TDs).

Miami’s Brevin Jordan (35 receptions for 495 yards and two touchdowns) is the first-team tight end.

Clemson guard John Simpson and tackle Tremayne Anchrum were the leading vote-getters on the offensive line.  They are joined by ACC Jacobs Blocking Trophy winner Mekhi Becton of Louisville, Boston College offensive guard John Phillips and Pitt center Jimmy Morrissey.

Miami redshirt freshman defensive end Gregory Rousseau, who ranks second nationally with 14 quarterback sacks, is joined on the defensive first-team front by fellow defensive end Carlos Basham of Wake Forest, Pitt tackle Jaylen Twyman and Florida State tackle Marvin Wilson.

Clemson’s Simmons and North Carolina’s Surratt are joined at linebacker by repeat first-teamer Shaquille Quarterman of Miami.

Clemson landed two spots on the All-ACC first team secondary in cornerback A.J. Terrell and safety Tanner Muse. Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley and Pitt safety Paris Ford are the other two selections.

Rousseau, Basham and Quarterman rank 1-2-3 among ACC defenders in tackles for loss. North Carolina’s Surratt is tied for the lead in total tackles with 110. Virginia Tech’s Farley and Clemson’s Muse have each picked off four passes, and Farley leads the conference in total passes defended with 16.

Wake Forest’s Sciba connected on his first 23 field goal attempts this season, and his 34 consecutive successful tries dating back to last season set an NCAA record. He is currently 24-for-25 in 2019 with 116 total points. Virginia’s Reed is just the second player in ACC history to surpass 3,000 career kick return yards.

Syracuse senior Sterling Hofrichter – the first Ray Guy finalist in school history – repeated as All-ACC first-team punter after wrapping up his career as the program’s all-time leader with 11,651 yards on 270 punts.

The complete 2019 All-ACC Football Team:

  First-Team Offense

QB – Trevor Lawrence, Clemson; 150
RB – Travis Etienne, Clemson; 176
RB – AJ Dillon, Boston College; 168
WR – Sage Surratt, Wake Forest; 167
WR – Tee Higgins, Clemson; 153
WR – Tutu Atwell, Louisville; 153
TE – Brevin Jordan, Miami; 115
AP – Joe Reed, Virginia; 142
OT – Tremayne Anchrum, Clemson; 136
OT – Mehki Becton, Louisville; 126
OG – John Simpson, Clemson; 160
OG – John Phillips, Boston College; 114
C – Jimmy Morrissey, Pitt; 92
First-Team Defense
DE – Gregory Rousseau, Miami; 152
DE – Carlos Basham, Wake Forest; 142
DT – Jaylen Twyman, Pitt; 146
DT – Marvin Wilson, Florida State; 136
LB – Isaiah Simmons, Clemson; 157
LB – Chazz Surratt, North Carolina; 144
LB – Shaquille Quarterman, Miami; 129
CB – Caleb Farley, Virginia Tech; 136
CB – A.J. Terrell, Clemson; 100
S – Paris Ford, Pitt; 130
S – Tanner Muse, Clemson; 122
First-Team Specialists
PK – Nick Sciba, Wake Forest; 156
P – Sterling Hofrichter, Syracuse; 103
SP – Joe Reed, Virginia; 156
Second-Team Offense
QB – Bryce Perkins, Virginia; 102
RB – Cam Akers, Florida State; 123
RB – Javian Hawkins, Louisville; 103
WR – Dazz Newsome, North Carolina; 96
WR – Tamorrion Terry, Florida State; 90
WR – Trishton Jackson, Syracuse; 86
TE – Noah Gray, Duke; 75
AP – Hassan Hall, Louisville; 59
OT – Charlie Heck, North Carolina; 117
OT – Ben Petrula, Boston College; 85
OG – Gage Cervenka, Clemson; 103
OG – Zion Johnson, Boston College; 98
C – Sean Pollard, Clemson; 90
Second-Team Defense
DE – Patrick Jones II, Pitt; 103
DE – Victor Dimukeje, Duke; 88
DT – Larrell Murchison, NC State; 89
DT – Tyler Davis, Clemson; 79
LB – Rayshard Ashby, Virginia Tech; 120
LB – Max Richardson, Boston College; 90
LB – Michael Pinckney, Miami (FL); 55
CB – Dane Jackson, Pitt; 87
CB  – Derion Kendrick, Clemson; 77
S – Hamsah Nasirildeen, Florida State; 102
S – Andre Cisco, Syracuse; 99
Second-Team Specialists
PK – Christopher Dunn, NC State; 87
P – Dom Maggio, Wake Forest; 76
SP – Damond Philyaw-Johnson, Duke; 69
Third-Team Offense
QB – Sam Howell, North Carolina; 76
RB – Jordan Mason, Georgia Tech; 42
RB – Michael Carter, North Carolina; 39
WR – Kendall Hinton, Wake Forest; 64
WR – Maurice Ffrench, Pitt; 61
WR – Dyami Brown, North Carolina; 57
TE – Hunter Long, Boston College; 63
AP – Maurice Ffrench, Pitt; 34
OT  – Justin Herron, Wake Forest; 83
OT – Jackson Carman, Clemson; 52
OG – Bryce Hargrove, Pitt; 88
OG – Nate Gilliam, Wake Forest; 81
C – Alec Lindstrom, Boston College; 72
Third-Team Defense
DE – Xavier Thomas, Clemson; 49
DE – Chris Rumph II, Duke; 38
DT – Jason Strowbridge, North Carolina; 60
DT – Nyles Pinckney, Clemson; 59
LB – Jordan Mack, Virginia; 53
LB – Lakiem Williams, Syracuse; 51
LB – Koby Quansah, Duke; 49
CB – Asante Samuel Jr., Florida State; 74
CB – Essang Bassey, Wake Forest; 61
S – K’Von Wallace, Clemson; 80
S – Joey Blount, Virginia; 38
Third-Team Specialists
PK – Andre Szmyt, Syracuse; 59
P – Trenton Gill, NC State; 61
SP – Hassan Hall, Louisville; 68
Honorable Mention Offense
QB – Jamie Newman, Wake Forest; 27
RB – Javonte Williams, North Carolina; 22
RB – David Bailey, Boston College; 20
WR – Justyn Ross, Clemson; 48
WR – Hasise Dubois, Virginia; 24
WR – Amari Rodgers, Clemson; 20
WR – Damon Hazelton, Virginia Tech; 20
TE – Cary Angeline, NC State; 32
TE – Jack Freudenthal, Wake Forest; 23
AP – Michael Carter, North Carolina; 32
AP – Amari Rodgers, Clemson; 31
OT – Christian Darrisaw, Virginia Tech; 36
OT – Tyler Vrabel, Boston College; 29
OT – Jake Benzinger, Wake Forest; 24
OG – Lecitus Smith, Virginia Tech; 38
OG – Jack DeFoor, Georgia Tech; 20
C – Zach Tom, Wake Forest; 40
C – Jack Wohlabaugh, Duke; 29
C – Olusegun Oluwatimi, Virginia; 25

Honorable Mention Defense

DE – Justin Foster, Clemson; 33
DE – Alton Robinson, Syracuse; 33
DE – Eli Hanback, Virginia; 21
DT – Aaron Crawford, North Carolina; 42
DT – Amir Watts, Pitt; 34
DT – Jarrod Hewitt, Virginia Tech; 33
LB – Justin Strnad, Wake Forest; 43
LB – Charles Snowden, Virginia; 38
LB – David Curry, Georgia Tech; 25
LB – Zane Zandier, Virginia; 23
LB – Kylan Johnson, Pitt; 23
CB – Tre Swilling, Georgia Tech; 55
CB – Jermaine Waller, Virginia Tech; 54
CB – Stanford Samuels III, Florida State; 32
CB – Trajan Bandy, Miami (FL); 30
S – Myles Dorn, North Carolina; 23
S – Nasir Greer, Wake Forest; 23

Honorable Mention Specialists

P – Oscar Bradburn, Virginia Tech; 59
P – Austin Parker, Duke; 29
SP – Maurice Ffrench, Pitt; 28
PK – Brian Delaney, Virginia; 22
PK – AJ Reed, Duke; 21