My ACC Vote

Jeff Gravley

WRAL anchor Jeff Gravley is from Oxford and has covered sports in the Triangle since 1985.

By Jeff Gravley
Dec 2, 2008

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Here is my vote for the ACC football honors. Stats you will see are for ACC games only. I don't give All-ACC credit for games played outside of the league.

You may agree or disagree with my selections. Debate it amongst yourselves.

MY PICKS ARE:

ACC Player of the Year: Jonathan Dwyer, RB, Georgia Tech. Paul Johnson needed a go-to running back in the new system brought to Ga. Tech. Dwyer was the guy, leading the ACC in rushing with 904 yards and 7 touchdowns. (remember that's just in ACC games)

ACC Offensive Player of the Year: Jonathan Dwyer

ACC Defensive Player of the Year: Mark Herzlich, LB, Boston College. He was 6th in the league with 61 tackles but lead the ACC in solo tackles with 46. Offensive coordinators and quarterbacks always know where #94 is. He comes from Pennsylvania..a breeding ground for linebackers.

ACC Rookie of the Year: Russell Wilson, QB, NC State. He started the year in a 5-way battle for the starting job, got knocked out in his first start, deals with the fact this his father suffered a stroke, has 13 touchdowns and ZERO interceptions in his last 7 ACC games and hasn't thrown an interception in 226 passes. FSU coach Bobby Bowden had this to say about Wilson, "This kid is the mother of all running quarterbacks. He is something else. He's got a great arm and can run like a scolded dog. Scares me to death." Sounds like Charlie Ward huh?

ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year: Russell Wilson

ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year: Robert Quinn, DL, North Carolina. This 6-5, 260 pound defensive lineman moves with the quickness and speed of a linebacker. A bear to block one-on-one and can create turnovers. He played one of his best games of the year against Georgia Tech forcing 2 turnovers. Quinn's senior season in high school was shortened after undergoing brain surgery for a benign tumor. What a way to bounce back.

ACC Coach of the Year: Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech. He introduced the Jackets to an entirely new offensive system and succeeded beyond expectations. I thought it would take a year to adjust but it didn't. Johnson makes nice in-game adjustments on offense to take advantage of your weaknesses. He has succeeded everywhere he has coached and the question of will his system work outside of Navy and Georgia Southern was answered in one year at Ga. Tech.

By the way, the overall ACC player/rookie of the year have to either be the offensive or defensive player/rookie of the year.

Most Recent Comments

RE: My ACC Vote

Just thought I would drop a line here! I hate the Carolina Huricanes and the NHL! I wish they would both fold. I'm tired of them all over this website and the local sports. Hockey sucks!

RE: Jeff Gravley-My ACC Vote

State will make it to a bowl. Mark my words. You don't keep a team out that went through what State went through, only to finish the season with four straight wins (two of which were against ranked opponents, and another that was ranked previously) to become bowl eligible, and not find a way to reward that.

I still think State will end up in that DC bowl. Maryland can't go to that one due to final exam conflicts, and Navy won't (contractually) play a team they have already faced this year, and they already played Wake Forest. I think Wake or Maryland will end up in an at-large bowl, and the ACC & NCAA will make an exception to their stupid rule and send State to the EagleBank Bowl in DC.