GREENSBORO, N.C. – Clemson, which is set to defend its Atlantic Coast Conference championship later this week, leads all schools with 15 selections to the 2016 All-ACC Football Teams, as voted upon by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA).
The Atlantic Division co-champion Tigers placed nine members on the All-ACC first team (five offense, four defense).
Coastal Division champion Virginia Tech, which will face the Tigers in Saturday night’s Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game in Orlando, had nine total players chosen, as did Atlantic Division co-champion Louisville.
Forty-eight ACSMA members cast ballots for the 2016 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.
Florida State junior Dalvin Cook, the ACC’s rushing leader with 1,620 yards, leads the overall voting with 139 points. He is joined on the first team by Louisville sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson, who leads the conference in total offense with 410.7 yards per game and set a conference record for touchdown responsibility with 51 (30 passing, 21 rushing).
Rounding out the first-team backfield is Pitt running back James Conner, the 2014 ACC Player of the Year, who battled back from a bout with cancer and a knee injury to re-establish himself as one of college football’s elite players. The first-team receiving trio of Clemson’s Mike Williams, Syracuse’s Amba Etta-Tawo and North Carolina’s Ryan Switzer have combined for 264 receptions, 29 touchdowns and more than 3,600 receiving yards.
Also featured on the offensive first team are two-time ACC Jacobs Blocking Trophy winner Roderick Johnson of Florida State and Clemson tight end Jordan Leggett. The Tigers’ presence is felt across the front line with center Jay Guillermo, tackle Mitch Hyatt and guard Tyrone Crowder all earning first-team selections. They are joined by Pitt guard Dorian Johnson.
Clemson linebacker Ben Boulware, who helps anchor a Tigers’ unit that has allowed just 17 points and a shade over 300 yards per game, leads the All-ACC defensive first-team voting. He is joined by defensive ends DeMarcus Walker of Florida State and Ejuan Price of Pitt; tackles Carlos Watkins of Clemson and Woody Baron of Virginia Tech, and fellow linebackers Micah Kiser of Virginia and Devonte Fields of Louisville.
A pair of Clemson seniors earned first-team spots in the secondary, with Cordrea Tankersley manning one cornerback position and Jadar Johnson chosen at safety. They are joined by Virginia junior safety Quin Blanding and Florida State sophomore cornerback Tavarus McFadden.
Virginia’s Kiser (11.2 per game) and Blanding (10.0) lead the ACC in total tackles. Florida State’s Walker shares the NCAA FBS lead in quarterback sacks with Boston College’s Harold Landry with 15, and Pitt’s Price has 12 to his credit. Price also leads the ACC with 21 total tackles for loss. McFadden’s eight interceptions lead the conference.
Wake Forest kicker Mike Weaver, Pitt explosive returner Quadree Henderson and Virginia punter Nicholas Conte complete the All-ACC first team.
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
WR, Mike Williams, R-Jr., Clemson, 131 pts
WR, Amba Etta-Tawo, R-Sr., Syracuse, 125
WR, Ryan Switzer, Sr., North Carolina, 107
TE, Jordan Leggett, Sr., Clemson, 95
T, Roderick Johnson, Jr., Florida State, 118
T, Mitch Hyatt, So., Clemson, 104
G, Tyrone Crowder, R-Jr., Clemson, 104
G, Dorian Johnson, Sr., Pittsburgh, 88
C, Jay Guillermo, R-Sr., Clemson, 86
QB, Lamar Jackson, So., Louisville, 125
RB, Dalvin Cook, Jr., Florida State, 139
RB, James Conner, R-Jr., Pittsburgh, 119
PK, Mike Weaver, R-Jr., Wake Forest, 47
Sp., Quadree Henderson, So., Pittsburgh, 103
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
DE, DeMarcus Walker, Sr., Florida State, 125
DE, Ejuan Price, R-Sr., Pittsburgh, 107
DT, Carlos Watkins, R-Sr., Clemson, 113
DT, Woody Baron, Sr., Virginia Tech, 79
LB, Ben Boulware, Sr., Clemson, 131
LB, Micah Kiser, Jr., Virginia, 99
LB, Devonte Fields, Sr., Louisville, 70
CB, Tarvarus McFadden, So., Florida State, 113
CB, Cordrea Tankersley, Sr., Clemson, 97
S, Quin Blanding, Jr., Virginia, 100
S, Jadar Johnson, Sr., Clemson, 94
P, Nicholas Conte, Sr., Virginia, 118
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
WR, Isaiah Ford, Jr., Virginia Tech, 103
WR, Travis Rudolph, Jr., Florida State, 81
WR, Ahmmon Richards, Fr., Miami , 50
TE, Cole Hikutini, Sr., Louisville, 62
T, Adam Bisnowaty, R-Sr., Pittsburgh, 88
T, Jon Heck, Sr., North Carolina, 57
G, Tony Adams, Jr., NC State, 54
G, Kareem Are, R-Sr., Florida State, 54
C, Lucas Crowley, Sr., North Carolina, 64
QB, Deshaun Watson, Jr., Clemson, 102
RB, Matthew Dayes, Sr., NC State, 79
RB, Wayne Gallman, R-Jr., Clemson, 73
PK, Greg Huegel, R-So., Clemson, 39
Sp., T.J. Logan, Sr., North Carolina, 57
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
DE, Harold Landry, Jr., Boston College, 92
DE, Christian Wilkins, So., Clemson, 72
DT, Dexter Lawrence, Fr., Clemson, 67
DT, DeAngelo Brown, Sr., Louisville, 66
LB, Marquel Lee, Sr., Wake Forest, 64
LB, Keith Kelsey, Sr., Louisville, 56
LB, Tremaine Edmunds, So., Virginia Tech, 47
CB, Jaire Alexander, So., Louisville, 80
CB, Corn Elder, Sr., Miami, 53
S, Jordan Whitehead, So., Pittsburgh, 54
S, Jessie Bates, Fr., Wake Forest, 42
P, Justin Vogel, Sr., Miami, 78
THIRD TEAM OFFENSE
WR, Artavis Scott, Jr., Clemson, 46
WR, James Quick, Sr., Louisville, 44
WR, Stacy Coley, Sr., Miami, 30
TE, Bucky Hodges, R-Jr., Virginia Tech, 52
T, Brian O’Neill, R-So., Pittsburgh, 35
T, Jonathan McLaughlin, Sr., Virginia Tech, 33
G, Augie Conte, R-Sr., Virginia Tech, 48
G, Danny Isidora, Sr., Miami, 43
C, Freddie Burden, R-Sr., Georgia Tech, 27
QB, Mitch Trubisky, Jr., North Carolina, 29
RB, Mark Walton, So., Miami, 59
RB, Elijah Hood, Jr., North Carolina, 40
PK, Joey Slye, Jr., Virginia Tech, 37
Sp., Brisly Estime, Sr., Syracuse, 32
THIRD TEAM DEFENSE
DE, Bradley Chubb, Jr., NC State, 64
DE, Duke Ejiofor, R-Jr., Wake Forest, 37
DT, Derrick Nnadi, Jr., Florida State, 65
DT, Nazair Jones, Jr., North Carolina, 33
LB, Ben Humphreys, So., Duke, 46
LB, Andrew Motuapuaka, R-Jr., Virginia Tech, 41
LB, Zaire Franklin, Jr., Syracuse, 40
CB, Greg Stroman, Jr., Virginia Tech, 45
CB, Breon Borders, Sr., Duke, 37
S, Josh Harvey-Clemons, Sr., Louisville, 38
S, Chucky Williams, Jr., Louisville, 34
P, Sterling Hofrichter, Fr.-R, Syracuse, 30
HONORABLE MENTION OFFENSE
WR, Ervin Philips, Jr., Syracuse, 29
WR, Quadree Henderson, So., Pittsburgh, 22
WR, Bug Howard, Sr., North Carolina, 20
TE, Jaylen Samuels, Jr., NC State, 24
TE, David Njoku, R-So., Miami , 22
T, Geron Christian, So., Louisville, 31
G, Wilson Bell, R-Jr., Florida State, 33
G, Wyatt Teller, R-Jr., Virginia Tech, 23
G, Khalil Hunter, Sr., Louisville, 21
C, Alec Eberle, R-So., Florida State, 24
C, Joe Scelfo, Gr-Tfr., NC State, 22
RB, Taquan Mizzell, Sr., Virginia, 30
PK, Harrison Butker, Sr., Georgia Tech, 34
PK, Chris Blewitt, Sr., Pittsburgh, 34
PK, Michael Badgley, Jr., Miami , 31
PK, Ricky Aguayo, Fr., Florida State, 30
PK, Nick Weiler, Sr., North Carolina, 27
Sp., Ryan Switzer, Sr., North Carolina, 26
Sp., Ray-Ray McCloud, So., Clemson, 20
HONORABLE MENTION DEFENSE
DE, Ken Ekanem, Sr., Virginia Tech, 25
DE, James Hearns, R-Jr., Louisville, 22
DT, Demarcus Christmas, R-So., Florida State, 25
DT, Patrick Gamble, R-Sr., Georgia Tech, 23
DT, Tyrique Jarrett, Sr., Pittsburgh, 21
LB, Andre Smith, So., North Carolina, 37
LB, Matt Milano, Sr., Boston College, 37
LB, Kendall Joseph, R-So., Clemson, 32
LB, Connor Strachan, Jr., Boston College, 31
LB, Joe Giles-Harris, Fr., Duke, 25
LB, Shaquille Quarterman, R-Fr., Miami , 24
LB, Parris Bennett, Jr., Syracuse, 23
CB, Marquez White, Sr., Florida State, 28
CB, Des Lawrence, Sr., North Carolina, 27
CB, M.J. Stewart, Jr., North Carolina, 24
S, Josh Jones, Jr., NC State, 28
S, Terrell Edmunds, R-So., Virginia Tech, 28
S, Chuck Clark, Sr., Virginia Tech, 23
S, Rayshawn Jenkins, R-Sr., Miami , 23
S, Van Smith, So., Clemson, 21
P, Dom Maggio, Fr., Wake Forest, 23