GREENSBORO, N.C. – Florida State wide receiver Rashad Greene and defensive end Cornellius Carradine headline a list of 10 players named as the Atlantic Coast Conference Football Players of the Week, announced by the conference on Monday. Greene caught the game-winning touchdowns with under a minute remaining and Carradine registered 11 tackles in the Seminoles’ 28-22 win at Virginia Tech.
Virginia’s Michael Rocco, the Offensive Back of the Week, engineered the game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter to lead the Cavaliers to a 41-40 win over Miami. Maurice Canady, the Co-Defensive Back of the Week, had nine tackles to earn conference honors for the second straight week.
Georgia Tech’s Quayshawn Nealy, the Co-Linebacker of the Week, had two sacks and six tackles and Jamal Golden, the Specialist of the Week, set a school record with 230 kickoff return yards in the Yellow Jackets’ 68-50 win at North Carolina.
NC State’s Camden Wentz, the Offensive Lineman of the Week, tallied 13 knockdown blocks and Dontae Johnson, the Co-Defensive Back of the Week, helped limit the Demon Deacon passing attack in the Wolfpack’s 37-6 victory.
Duke Johnson set a Miami record with 368 all-purpose yards to earn Rookie of the Week honors for the fourth time and Gionni Paul, the Co-Linebacker of the Week, had a career-high 14 tackles in the 41-40 loss at Virginia.
OFFENSIVE BACK – Michael Rocco, Virginia, Junior, QB, 6-3, 225, Lynchburg, Va.
Rocco completed 29 of 37 passes for 300 yards, four touchdowns, and had no interceptions to help Virginia to a 41-40 upset of Miami. Rocco tossed a 10-yard throw to TE Jake McGee in the back of the end zone with six seconds left to produce the go-ahead score for the Cavaliers. Rocco’s passing numbers included a school record streak of 18 consecutive completions and set new career highs in completions (29) and touchdowns (4). Virginia’s final drive saw Rocco direct the Cavaliers 87 yards in 2:32, converting two fourth downs during the drive. Rocco either passed or ran (one QB sneak) for all 87 yards during the drive.
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN – Camden Wentz, NC State, Senior, C, 6-3, 301, Marietta, Ga.
Wentz tallied 13 knockdown blocks to help pave the way for the Wolfpack's 428 yards of total offense in the win over Wake Forest. Making his 36th consecutive start at center, Wentz was in for 86 snaps from scrimmage and posted the offensive line's top grade of 88%.
RECEIVER – Rashad Greene, Florida State, Sophomore, WR, 6-0, 170, Albany, Ga.
Greene turned a quick slant pass from quarterback EJ Manuel into the 39-yard game-winning touchdown with 40 seconds remaining in the Seminoles’ 28-22 win at Virginia Tech. Greene finished the night with six receptions for 125 yards – his first 100-yard receiving game of the season – and a pair of scores.
DEFENSIVE LINEMAN – Cornellius Carradine, Florida State, Senior, DE, 6-5, 265, Cincinnati, Ohio
Carradine turned in one of the most productive games of his two-year career in leading the Seminoles with 11 tackles in their 28-22 road win at Virginia Tech. His career-high 11 tackles – six solos and five assists – also included his ninth sack and 10th tackle for loss of the season. Carradine has helped the Florida State defense climb to No. 1 nationally in total defense and rank among the top four in each major statistical category. Carradine is currently tied with linebacker Christian Jones for the team lead in tackles with 64.
CO-LINEBACKER – Quayshawn Nealy, Georgia Tech, R-Sophomore, LB, 6-1, 232, Lakeland, Fla.
Nealy registered a career-high two sacks to go with six tackles (four solo tackles) in Georgia Tech’s 68-50 win at North Carolina.
CO-LINEBACKER – Gionni Paul, Miami, Sophomore, LB, 6-0, 230, Lakeland, Fla.
Playing in place of injured Denzel Perryman, Paul tallied a career-high 14 tackles – seven solo – in Miami’s 41-40 loss at Virginia. It was his second double-digit tackle game of season, and his 14 stops are the most by Hurricane in a game this season.
CO-DEFENSIVE BACK – Maurice Canady, Virginia, Freshman, CB, 6-2, 180, Richmond, Va.
A week after his first start and earning ACC Player of the Week honors, Canady had another big game in Virginia’s 41-40 win over Miami. He came up with nine tackles, broke up one pass and forced a fumble that he recovered on the Virginia 2-yard line early in the fourth quarter.
CO-DEFENSIVE BACK – Dontae Johnson, NC State, Junior, CB, 6-3, 196, Pennington, N.J.
Johnson matched up against Wake Forest flanker Michael Campanero for most of the game in the Wolfpack’s 37-6 win over the Demon Deacons. In the game for 55 snaps from scrimmage, Johnson limited Campanero to five catches for just 14 yards, shy of his average of 8.5 receptions and 86.3 yards. He tallied five solo tackles, including a three-yard tackle for loss, and forced a fumble in the second half.
SPECIALIST – Jamal Golden, Georgia Tech, Sophomore, DB/KR, 6-0, 188, Wetumpka, Ala.
Golden returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown – his second kick return for a touchdown over the last three weeks – and he broke a school record with 230 kickoff return yards in Georgia Tech’s 68-50 win at North Carolina. Georgia Tech had not returned a kickoff for a touchdown from 1998 through 2011, but Golden has tied a Tech record with two kickoff returns for scores in one season. His 100-yard kick return on the opening kickoff of the second half was the longest scoring play in the Paul Johnson era.
ROOKIE – Duke Johnson, Miami, Freshman, RB, 5-9, 188, Miami, Fla.
Johnson rushed for a career-high 150 yards on 16 carries and also threw for a 9-yard touchdown – his career-first pass – in Miami’s 41-40 loss at Virginia. He has three 100-yard rushing games this season, including 100+ yards in back-to-back games. Johnson amassed a Miami-record 368 all-purpose yards in the game which ranks as the fourth-most in ACC history. He registered 214 kick return yards on four tries, including a 95-yard kick return for a score, his second kick return for touchdown this season which is tied for most in school history. He became only the third FBS player since 2000 with a TD pass and a kickoff return for TD in the same game.
by @hokieguru
