All-ACC picks reflect wild season
Published: Tue, Dec. 02, 2008 12:30AM
Modified Tue, Dec. 02, 2008 02:16AM
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closeRegardless of what happens Saturday in the ACC championship game between Virginia Tech and Boston College, the 2008 football season will rate among the most bizarre in league history.
The latest evidence of that fact could be found in Monday's announcement of the conference all-star team, which was selected by members of the Atlantic Coast Media Association.
N.C. State's Russell Wilson, considered by many to be a long shot to start on his own team in preseason, easily dominated the voting at quarterback.
2008 ALL-ACC TEAMS
The 2008 Associated Press All-ACC Football Teams as voted on by 67 members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association. A first-team vote was worth two points and second team vote one. An asterisk denotes unanimous selection. Votes received are in parentheses
OFFENSE First team
QB--Russell Wilson, N.C. State (106)
RB--Jonathan Dwyer, Georgia Tech (134)*
RB--Da'Rel Scott, Maryland (76)
WR--Hakeem Nicks, North Carolina (130)
WR--D.J. Boldin, Wake Forest (76)
TE--John Phillips, Virginia (88)
OT--Eugene Monroe, Virginia (117)
OT--Andrew Gardner, Georgia Tech (107)
OG--Rodney Hudson, Florida State (99)
OG--Cliff Ramsey, Boston College (78)
C--Edwin Williams, Maryland (62)
Second team
QB--Thaddeus Lewis, Duke (28)
RB--Darren Evans, Virginia Tech (58)
RB--C.J. Spiller, Clemson (50)
WR--Eron Riley, Duke (57)
WR--Aaron Kelly, Clemson (56)
TE--Ryan Purvis, Boston College (45)
OT--Garrett Reynolds, North Carolina (42)
OT--Anthony Castonzo, Boston College (41)
OG--Sergio Render, Virginia Tech (48)
OG--Cord Howard, Georgia Tech (45)
C--Thomas Austin, Clemson (48)
DEFENSE First team
DE--Everette Brown, Florida State (131)
DE--Michael Johnson, Georgia Tech (99)
DT--B.J. Raji, Boston College (103)
DT--Vance Walker, Georgia Tech (62)
LB--Mark Herzlich, Boston College (118)
LB--Michael Tauiliili, Duke (110)
LB--Aaron Curry, Wake Forest (106)
CB--Alphonso Smith, Wake Forest (134)*
CB--Victor Harris, Virginia Tech (125)
S--Trimane Goddard, North Carolina (105)
S--Michael Hamlin, Clemson (89)
Second team
DE--Orion Martin, Virginia Tech (61)
DE--Jason Worilds, Virginia Tech (39)
DT--Ron Brace, Boston College (52)
DT--Darryl Richard, Georgia Tech (50)
LB--Clint Sintim, Virginia (79)
LB--Alex Wujciak, Maryland (43)
LB--Mark Paschal, North Carolina (40)
CB--Ras-I Dowling, Virginia (49)
CB--Tony Carter, Florida State (34)
CB--Kendric Burney, North Carolina (34)
S--Morgan Burnett, Georgia Tech (85)
S--Myron Rolle, Florida State (55)
SPECIAL TEAMS
First team
K--Graham Gano, Florida State (127)
P--Travis Baltz, Maryland (105)
Specialist--C.J. Spiller, Clemson (66)
Second team
K--Matt Bosher, Miami (34)
P--Matt Bosher, Miami (60)
Specialist--Michael Ray Garvin, Florida State (41)
HONORABLE MENTION
OFFENSE: Riley Skinner, qb, Wake Forest (26); Antone Smith, rb, Florida State (33); Cedric Peerman, rb, Virginia (30); Darius Heyward-Bey, wr, Maryland (34); Kevin Ogletree, wr, Virginia (32); Dan Gronkowski, te, Maryland (41); Scott Burley, ot, Maryland (34); Thomas Claiborne, og, Boston College (38); Calvin Darity, og, North Carolina (34); Jaimie Thomas, og, Maryland (33); Nick Marshman, og, Virginia Tech (24); Ryan McMahon, c, Florida State (35); Matt Tennant, c, Boston College (33); Ryan Shuman, c, Virginia Tech (23).
DEFENSE: Derrick Morgan, de, Georgia Tech (26); Willie Young, de, N.C. State (25); Vince Oghobaase, dt, Duke (40); Boo Robinson, de, Wake Forest (31); Jeremy Navarre, dt, Maryland (29); Nate Irving, lb, N.C. State (28); Paul Anderson, s, Boston College (35); Anthony Reddick, s, Miami (23).
SPECIAL TEAMS: Dustin Keys, k, Virginia Tech (25); Brandon Tate, spec., North Carolina (33); T.J. Graham, spec., N.C. State (31).
More Columns by Caulton Tudor
Wilson will join Georgia Tech running back Jonathan Dwyer (a unanimous first-team pick) and Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich as the ACC gold-standard players for 2009, assuming they all return to school. North Carolina wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, a junior, obviously qualifies for the same group, but he's likely to turn pro.
The emergence of Wilson as the league's most exciting player also underscores the unpredictable nature of football recruiting. Deemed an undersized quarterback candidate as a high school player in Richmond, Va., Wilson was rated as a modest two-star prospect who almost slipped through the recruiting net.
Had it not been for his baseball skills, there's a chance Wilson would have been passed up by State.
Wilson is just one example of how misleading recruit rankings can be in football.
Wake Forest's Aaron Curry, a solid first-team choice and a likely high-round NFL draft pick next April, was another two-star prep player who was widely snubbed by other ACC schools.
Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis, the second-team pick, was a three-star prospect but judged by some schools to be a better candidate for defensive back or wide receiver.
But for each big surprise in the ACC '08, there was a big disappointment:
* Clemson quarterback Cullen Harper was an overwhelming choice in the preseason vote for player of the year. No. 2 in that vote was his running back teammate James Davis. Neither was a remote voting factor at the end.
* Davis was joined by Wake Forest sophomore Josh Adams as the other preseason running back. Adams was injured and rarely showed the flash that made him an easy winner in the 2007 league rookie-of-the-year race.
* The biggest miscalculation of all, however, was Clemson. A huge favorite to win the Atlantic Division and the pick to whip Virginia Tech in the championship game, the Tigers so thoroughly flopped that Harper had to fight for his job and coach Tommy Bowden lost his.
* Then there was Boston College, which was picked for fourth in the Atlantic and was one of only four teams that didn't get at least one vote to win its division.
Go figure. That's the only suitable summation of ACC football in '08.
caulton.tudor@newsobserver.com or 919-829-8946
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