News & Observer sports columnist Caulton Tudor looks at the top all-time ACC football players by position. Today, defensive backs.
Ernie Jackson was the talk of the nation during the first few weeks of the 1971 college football season.
On a Duke team that was expected to win no more than three or four games in former Blue Devil star Mike McGee's first season as coach, Jackson had one of the best individual performances in ACC history.
Roughly 10 seasons after two-platoon competition began to gain popularity, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound defensive back became the first defender in league history to win the ACC player of the year award.
But that's just part of the Jackson story.
That same season, he was voted ACC defensive player of the week and offensive player of the week after separate games in September.
On my list of the ACC's all-time top 25 defensive backs, Jackson was an easy choice for No. 1.
Until a load of injuries, Duke's '71 team had arguably the best early season in conference history - wins over Florida (12-6 in Jacksonville, Fla.), 10th-ranked South Carolina (28-12), at Virginia (28-0) and at ninth-ranked Stanford (9-3) to open 4-0 and climb to No. 14 in the polls. Later, the Devils defeated West Virginia 31-15.
A 3-0 loss in awful weather to Clemson in Norfolk, Va., halted the win streak. But even with most of the offense and much of the defense out with injuries, Duke went into November as the national leader in several defensive categories.
By the final two games - one-sided losses to Wake Forest and North Carolina - the Devils were so banged up that the season lost definition. A 6-5 finish (2-3 ACC) wasn't good enough to impress bowl scouts.
Jackson was rushed into duty at quarterback after starter Dennis Satyshur went out and shouldered the rushing burden when star tailback Steve Jones had to be held out of action for stretches.
For the season, Jackson rushed 65 times for 360 yards (5.5 per carry) and scored five touchdowns.
On defense, he intercepted four passes for 84 yards in returns and two more TDs.
He returned 15 kickoffs for an average of 23.7 yards and brought back 18 punts for a 10-yard average and yet another TD.
Oh yes, he also caught one pass for 21 yards.
"I've never seen one player do so much to help a team," McGee said near the end of the season.
On the all-conference team, Jackson was joined by teammates Rich Searl and Bill Hanenberg in the defensive backfield.
From Duke, Jackson went on to the NFL and intercepted 15 passes in an eight-year career with Detroit, Atlanta and New Orleans.
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Duke’s usually-quick transition game was negated by Maryland’s ability to slow the game down, and the Blue Devils were ousted 16-10. Maryland will play Loyola for the national title. 
Will and John Haus have grown accustomed to playing against each other in ACC play. Saturday’s match between the Blue Devils and Terrapins will be the third this season, but the stakes will be much higher than in the previous two, with a spot in Monday’s NCAA championship game in play. 
Dave Harding, 10 of his fellow Duke offensive linemen and a strength coach went to Ethiopia in part to help construct wells where international organizations estimate that 76 percent of the eastern African country does not have access to clean water. The trip was something close to an unqualified success. 
N.C. State pitcher Carlos Rodon keeps winning. The freshman from Holly Springs won nine games during the regular season and two ACC awards on Monday. 
For winning the national title in 2010, Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski received a $2.5 million raise, boosting his total compensation by 54 percent to more than $7.2 million. 
The Blue Devils program capped a tumultuous start to the offseason with a recruiting coup and optimism about a strong returning lineup. Keep up with the latest sports stories with our free e-mail newsletters, delivered to your inbox!
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With player and team
1. Ernie Jackson (Duke '71)
2. Ken Swilling (GT '91)
3. Terry Kinard (Clemson '82)
4. Dewayne Washington (NCSU '93)
5. Samari Rolle (FSU '97)
6. Ronde Barber (UVa '96)
7. Adrian Wilson (NCSU '00)
8. Dre' Bly (UNC '98)
9. Dick Christy (NCSU '57)
10. Charlie Waters (Clemson '69)
11. Victor Harris (VT '08)
12. Domonique Foxworth (UMd '04)
13. Fred Combs (NCSU '67)
14. Bill Armstrong (Wake '76)
15. Bobby Bryant (S. Car. '66)
16. Tye Hill (Clemson '05)
17. Devin Bush (FSU '94)
18. Brandon Flowers (VT '07)
19. Kenny Phillips (Miami '07)
20. Alphonso Smith (Wake '08)
21. Donnell Woolford (Clemson '88)
22. Terrence Holt (NCSU '02)
23. Jack Whitley (NCSU '70)
24. Anthony Poindexter (UVa '98)
25. Bryant McFadden (FSU '04)
ECU TOP 5
1. Jim Bolding ('75)
2. Reggie Pinkney ('76)
3. Emmanuel McDaniel ('95)
4. Ruffin McNeill ('79)
5. Van Eskridge ('09)
Wolfpack influence
Overall, N.C. State has had the best defensive backfield production in ACC history and that's even after Florida State's arrival in 1992.
Five Wolfpack players are on the top-25 list and some very good ones - Dee Dee Hoggard, Izel Jenkins, Mike Brooks, Jesse Campbell, Gary Yount, Ralph Stringer and Eric Williams among many others - had to be left off.
About the list
ECU's top five is led by Jim Bolding, the national leader in interceptions and an all-America pick in the mid '70s.
At No. 4 among the Pirates is current head coach Ruffin McNeill.
At No. 15 is the only South Carolina player to make any of the top 25 lists - versatile Bob Bryant, the ACC athlete of the year in 1967. In the '66-'67 school year, he was an all-American in football and baseball.
Next in the top-25 series: Coaches.
