2007 All-ACC Academic Football Team Announced |
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? The leading rusher in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the most accurate passer in the nation, the leading scorer in the ACC and five players who earned first or second-team, All-Conference honors this past season secured spots on the 40-member 2007 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Football Team, as announced Monday by Commissioner John Swofford.
To be eligible for consideration, a player must have earned a 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during his academic career. All 12 ACC schools were represented by at least one selection on the team. Georgia Tech senior running back Tashard Choice, who led the ACC in rushing for the second straight year with 1,379 yards, and Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner, who completed 72.4 percent of his passes to lead the nation in the NCAA?s Bowl Subdivision, both earned selection to the team as did Clemson placekicker Mark Buchholz, who led the ACC in scoring with 114 points. Also, Choice (1st team), Georgia Tech senior placekicker Travis Bell (1st), Virginia tight end Tom Santi (2nd), Maryland offensive guard Andrew Crummey (2nd) and Georgia Tech senior center Kevin Tuminello (2nd) all earned first or second-team All-ACC honors this past year. Santi was named in December as the ACC?s winner of the 2007 Jim Tatum Award, presented annually to the Conference?s top Scholar-Athlete in football. Crummey was a second-team All-America selection by The Sporting News, while Bell, Choice and Wake Forest Defensive End Jeremy Thompson were Honorable Mention All-America selections. Boston College offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo, who was chosen a first-team Freshman All-America by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), and Maryland punter Travis Baltz, were selected Honorable Mention Freshmen All-Americas by The Sporting News. Tech?s Bell, who did not miss a PAT in his 138 career attempts, earned selection to the ACC All-Academic team for the fourth consecutive year. Five others, Rumsey of Maryland, Santi of Virginia, Tuminello of Georgia Tech, Bailey of Duke and Louis Frazier of Wake Forest earned their third straight ACC All-Academic selection. Ten repeated from last year?s team and Wake?s Thompson also earned his second Academic honors, having been chosen for the 2005 team. Skinner was joined by two other starting quarterbacks in Duke?s Thaddeus Lewis and Virginia Tech?s Sean Glennon. Bell, Virginia Tech?s Jud Dunlevy and NC State?s Stephen Hauschka were all semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award. And four of the top six scorers in the ACC are also featured on the team led by Clemson?s Buchholz, who averaged 8.8 points per game, followed by Bell (3rd), Dunlevy (4th) and Maryland?s Obi Egekeze (6th). GREENSBORO, N.C. ? The leading rusher in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the most accurate passer in the nation, the leading scorer in the ACC and five players who earned first or second-team, All-Conference honors this past season secured spots on the 40-member 2007 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Football Team, as announced Monday by Commissioner John Swofford. To be eligible for consideration, a player must have earned a 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during his academic career. All 12 ACC schools were represented by at least one selection on the team. Georgia Tech senior running back Tashard Choice, who led the ACC in rushing for the second straight year with 1,379 yards, and Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner, who completed 72.4 percent of his passes to lead the nation in the NCAA?s Bowl Subdivision, both earned selection to the team as did Clemson placekicker Mark Buchholz, who led the ACC in scoring with 114 points. Also, Choice (1st team), Georgia Tech senior placekicker Travis Bell (1st), Virginia tight end Tom Santi (2nd), Maryland offensive guard Andrew Crummey (2nd) and Georgia Tech senior center Kevin Tuminello (2nd) all earned first or second-team All-ACC honors this past year. Santi was named in December as the ACC?s winner of the 2007 Jim Tatum Award, presented annually to the Conference?s top Scholar-Athlete in football. Crummey was a second-team All-America selection by The Sporting News, while Bell, Choice and Wake Forest Defensive End Jeremy Thompson were Honorable Mention All-America selections. Boston College offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo, who was chosen a first-team Freshman All-America by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), and Maryland punter Travis Baltz, were selected Honorable Mention Freshmen All-Americas by The Sporting News. Tech?s Bell, who did not miss a PAT in his 138 career attempts, earned selection to the ACC All-Academic team for the fourth consecutive year. Five others, Rumsey of Maryland, Santi of Virginia, Tuminello of Georgia Tech, Bailey of Duke and Louis Frazier of Wake Forest earned their third straight ACC All-Academic selection. Ten repeated from last year?s team and Wake?s Thompson also earned his second Academic honors, having been chosen for the 2005 team. Skinner was joined by two other starting quarterbacks in Duke?s Thaddeus Lewis and Virginia Tech?s Sean Glennon. Bell, Virginia Tech?s Jud Dunlevy and NC State?s Stephen Hauschka were all semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award. And four of the top six scorers in the ACC are also featured on the team led by Clemson?s Buchholz, who averaged 8.8 points per game, followed by Bell (3rd), Dunlevy (4th) and Maryland?s Obi Egekeze (6th). Five Clemson Football Players Named to All-ACC Academic Football Team Tied for Most Selections in Clemson History Clemson, SC-Five Clemson football players, including four starters, have been named to the ACC All-Academic team announced by the Atlantic Coast Conference on Monday. The list of Tigers includes four starters from Clemson's 9-4 team that ranked 21st in the final Associated Press poll. Only Maryland had more selections to the team than Clemson with six, while Duke tied the Tigers for second with five. The five selections tied for the most in one year in Clemson history. The 2001 and 1985 Clemson teams also had five apiece. Four of the five Clemson players named to the team will return for the 2008 season. The 2007 team was the first in Clemson history to have five Academic All-ACC selections and finish the season in the AP top 25. Starting center Thomas Austin was named to the team as a sophomore. Austin started 12 of the 13 games on the offensive line and was a big reason the Tigers led the ACC in scoring offense and finished second in total offense and rushing offense. Michael Palmer, Clemson's starting tight end in 11 of the 13 games, was also named to the team. Palmer led Clemson tight ends in receptions with 13 for 128 yards and a touchdown and was sixth on the team overall in receptions. Fullback Alex Pearson was named to the team for the second consecutive year, the only repeat selection among Clemson players. Pearson graduated in three and a half years this past December. Both of Clemson's kickers were also named to the team. Mark Buchholz, who led the ACC in scoring with a school record 114 points and kicked 22 field goals this year, was also named. His 35-yard field goal on the last play of the game gave the Tigers 23-21 win over South Carolina. Punter Jimmy Maners was the fifth Clemson player on the squad. Maners averaged 42.8 yards per punt this year, had 16 punts inside the 20 and 13 punts of at least 50 yards. Maners had a perfect 4.0 in the classroom in the fall semester. The 2007 All-ACC Academic Football team is as follows: 2007 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Football Team
Player School Class Pos. Major
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