Second-ranked Clemson and fourth-ranked Notre Dame headline The Associated Press All-Atlantic Coast Conference teams and individual awards for the 2020 season.
The Tigers, who beat the Fighting Irish in Saturday’s league championship game for a sixth straight title, had a league-high 10 selections in results released Monday after voting by 14 sports writers who cover the conference. That list included quarterback Trevor Lawrence as the offensive player of the year and freshman defensive end Myles Murphy in a tie for league newcomer of the year with Miami quarterback D’Eriq King, a redshirt senior who transferred from Houston.
The Fighting Irish – who gave up their cherished football independence for this year to join the league race due to the coronavirus pandemic – was second with nine selections. That included linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah as the league’s defensive player of the year, while Brian Kelly was voted coach of the year after leading Notre Dame to a 10-0 regular-season record.
Both Clemson and Notre Dame are headed to the College Football Playoff, giving the ACC two playoff teams for the first time.
North Carolina and Miami were next with six selections each, with the Orange Bowl-bound Tar Heels claiming both first-team running back positions with Javonte Williams and Michael Carter, as well as receiver Dyami Brown as the only unanimous selection on the team.
North Carolina State offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu was voted to the team at both guard and tackle positions after starting at both spots this year, while Clemson running back Travis Etienne – a two-time league offensive player of the year – was a second-team pick both at running back and as an all-purpose player.
The 2020 Associated Press All-Atlantic Coast Conference team, as selected by a panel of 14 sports writers who regularly cover the league for newspapers or broadcast outlets. Players at all positions are listed alphabetically with name, school, height, weight, class and hometown; ”u-” denotes unanimous selections:
First team
Offense
QB – Trevor Lawrence, Clemson, 6-6, 220, jr., Cartersville, Georgia
RB – Javonte Williams, North Carolina, 5-10, 220, jr., Wallace, North Carolina
RB – Michael Carter, North Carolina, 5-8, 199, sr., Navarre, Florida
OT – Liam Eichenberg, Notre Dame, 6-6, 302, gr., Cleveland
OT – Christian Darrisaw, Virginia Tech, 6-5, 314, jr., Upper Marlboro, Maryland
OG – Aaron Banks, Notre Dame, 6-6, 330, sr., Alameda, California
OG – Tommy Kraemer, Notre Dame, 6-6, 317, gr., Cincinnati
C – Jimmy Morrissey, Pittsburgh, 6-3, 305, r-sr., Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania
TE – Hunter Long, Boston College, 6-5, 253, r-jr., Exeter, New Hampshire
u-WR – Dyami Brown, North Carolina, 6-1, 185, jr., Charlotte, North Carolina
WR – Amari Rodgers, Clemson, 5-10, 210, sr., Knoxville, Tennessee
All-purpose player – Khalil Herbert, Virginia Tech, 5-9, 212, gr., Fort Lauderdale, Florida
K – Jose Borregales, Miami, 5-10, 205, r-sr., Miami
Defense
DE – Rashad Weaver, Pittsburgh, 6-5, 270, r-sr., Fort Lauderdale, Florida
DE – Jaelan Phillips, Miami, 6-5, 266, r-jr., Redlands, California
DT – Alim McNeill, North Carolina State, 6-2, 320, jr., Raleigh, North Carolina
DT – Bryan Bresee, Clemson (tie), 6-5, 300, fr., Damascus, Maryland
DT – Miles Fox, Wake Forest (tie), 6-1, 286, gr., Lawrenceville, Georgia
LB – Payton Wilson, North Carolina State, 6-4, 240, r-so., Hillsborough, North Carolina
LB – Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Notre Dame, 6-2, 215, sr., Hampton, Virginia
LB – Chazz Surratt, North Carolina, 6-2, 225, gr., Denver, North Carolina
CB – Asante Samuel Jr., Florida State, 5-10, 184, jr., Sunrise, Florida
CB – Derion Kendrick, Clemson, 6-0, 190, jr., Rock Hill, South Carolina
S – Divine Deablo, Virginia Tech, 6-3, 226, r-sr., Winston-Salem, North Carolina
S – Kyle Hamilton, Notre Dame, 6-4, 219, so., Atlanta
P – Pressley Harvin III, Georgia Tech, 6-0, 255, sr., Alcolu, South Carolina
Second team
Offense
QB – Sam Howell, North Carolina, 6-1, 225, so., Indian Trail, North Carolina
RB – Kyren Williams, Notre Dame, 5-9, 195, so., St. Louis
RB – Travis Etienne, Clemson, 5-10, 205, sr., Jennings, Louisiana
OT – Robert Hainsey, Notre Dame, 6-5, 290, sr., Pittsburgh
OT – Jackson Carman, Clemson (tie), 6-5, 335, jr., Fairfield, Ohio
OT – Ikem Ekwonu, North Carolina State (tie), 6-4, 325, so., Charlotte, North Carolina
OG – Joshua Ezeudu, North Carolina, 6-4, 325, so., Lawrenceville, Georgia
OG – Ikem Ekwonu, North Carolina State, 6-4, 325, so., Charlotte, North Carolina
C – Jarrett Patterson, Notre Dame, 6-5, 305, jr., Laguna Hills, California
TE – Brevin Jordan, Miami, 6-3, 245, jr., Las Vegas
WR – Zay Flowers, Boston College, 5-11, 178, so., Fort Lauderdale, Florida
WR – Jaquarii Roberson, Wake Forest, 6-1, 182, r-jr., Murfreesboro, North Carolina
All-purpose player – Travis Etienne, Clemson, 5-10, 205, sr., Jennings, Louisiana
K – Alex Kessman, Pittsburgh, 6-3, 190, r-sr., Clarkston, Michigan
Defense
DE – Patrick Jones II, Pittsburgh, 6-5, 260, r-sr., Chesapeake, Virginia
DE – Chris Rumph II, Duke, 6-4, 235, r-jr., Gainesville, Florida
DT – Jared Goldwire, Louisville, 6-6, 305, sr., Tacoma, Washington
DT – Jarrod Hewitt, Virginia Tech, 6-1, 280, r-sr., Venice, Florida
LB – Isaiah McDuffie, Boston College, 6-1, 224, r-jr., Buffalo, New York
LB – Charles Snowden, Virginia, 6-7, 240, sr., Silver Spring, Maryland
LB – Baylon Spector, Clemson, 6-2, 230, gr., Calhoun, Georgia
CB – Andrew Booth Jr., Clemson, 6-0, 195, so., Dacula, Georgia
CB – Al Blades Jr., Miami (tie), 6-1, 192, jr., Fort Lauderdale, Florida
CB – Ifeatu Melifonwu, Syracuse (tie), 6-3, 213, r-jr., South Grafton, Massachusetts
CB – Nick McCloud, Notre Dame (tie), 6-1, 192, gr., Rock Hill, South Carolina
S – Nolan Turner, Clemson, 6-1, 205, r-sr., Vestavia Hills, Alabama
S – Bubba Bolden, Miami (tie), 6-3, 200, r-jr., Las Vegas
S – Paris Ford, Pittsburgh (tie), 6-0, 190, r-jr., Pittsburgh
P – Lou Hedley, Miami, 6-4, 220, r-jr., Mandurah, Australia
Coach of the year – Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Offensive player of the year – Trevor Lawrence, Clemson
Defensive player of the year – Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Notre Dame
Newcomer of the year – (tie) D’Eriq King, Miami, qb, 5-11, 202, r-sr., Manvel, Texas; Myles Murphy, Clemson, de, 6-5, 275, fr., Marietta, Georgia
Voting panel: Rick Bozich, WDRB-TV, Louisville, Kentucky; Lauren Brownlow, WRAL.com, Raleigh, North Carolina; Bennett Conlin, The Daily Progress of Charlottesville, Virginia; Matthew Connolly, The State of Columbia, South Carolina; Tom D’Angelo, Palm Beach (Florida) Post; John Dell, The Winston-Salem (North Carolina) Journal; Jerry DiPaola, (Pittsburgh) Tribune Total Media; Eric Hansen, South Bend (Indiana) Tribune; Trevor Hass, Boston.com; Nate Mink, The Post-Standard of Syracuse, New York; Jonas Pope, The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina/The Herald-Sun of Durham, North Carolina; Curt Weiler, Tallahassee (Florida) Democrat; Steve Wiseman, The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina/The Herald-Sun of Durham, North Carolina; Norm Wood, The Daily Press of Newport News, Virginia.
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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25
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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap
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