ACC football players of the week: Sept. 14

Sophomore running back Dalvin Cook leads a group of four Florida State student-athletes earning ACC Football Player of the Week honors, as announced by the conference office on Monday.

Cook was selected as the ACC Offensive Back of the Week, while Roderick Johnson was named Offensive Lineman of the Week, Jalen Ramsey the Co-Defensive Back of the Week and Roberto Aguayo the Specialist of the Week.

Cook, who rushed for 266 yards and three touchdowns in the Seminoles’ 34-14 win over South Florida, was also named the Walter Camp Football Foundation Offensive Player of the Week.

Two players from Syracuse were honored following the Orange’s 30-17 win over Wake Forest in its conference season opener, with Julian Whigham tabbed as the Co-Defensive Back of the Week and Eric Dungey the Rookie of the Week.

Also recognized were Virginia’s Canaan Severin (Receiver of the Week), Pitt’s Tyrique Jarrett and Clemson’s Shaq Lawson (Co-Defensive Linemen of the Week), and North Carolina’s Shakeel Rashad (Linebacker of the Week).

ACC Football Players of the Week are selected by a 14-member media panel.

OFFENSIVE BACK – Dalvin Cook, Florida State, So., RB, 5-11, 202, Miami, Fla.
Cook rushed for 266 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries to lead the Seminoles to a 34-14 victory over USF. Cook’s rushing total is the most by a running back in the nation this season and the most by an ACC running back in almost two seasons (since Boston College’s Andre Williams rushed for 339 yards against NC State on Nov. 16, 2013). Cook had a 74-yard touchdown in the first quarter, a 24-yard score in the second quarter and a 37-yard touchdown in the fourth. He became the first Seminole with a 200-yard rushing game since Sammie Smith in 1988 while posting the second-best rushing total in FSU history. Cook has rushed for 100 yards in five consecutive games and leads all “Autonomy Five” running backs with 422 rushing yards this season.

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN – Roderick Johnson, Florida State, So., LT, 6-7, 323, Florissant, Mo.
Johnson paved the way Florida State’s offense in its 34-14 victory over USF. Johnson had the highest grade of any FSU offensive lineman and registered five knockdown blocks while opening holes for the Seminoles to total 278 yards on the ground, including 266 from Dalvin Cook. Overall, Florida State had 441 yards of total offense, including 331 in the second half. FSU’s offense picked up as the game wore on, scoring points on all five of its second-half possessions.

RECEIVER – Canaan Severin, Virginia, Sr., WR, 6-2, 210, Marlborough, Mass.
Severin set career highs with 11 receptions for 153 yards as Virginia made a serious bid to upset No. 9 Notre Dame before falling 34-27. He also recorded the longest catch of his career (38 yards), and seven of his receptions resulted in a first down. Severin also drew one pass interference call against the Irish secondary.

CO-DEFENSIVE LINEMAN – Tyrique Jarrett, Pitt, Jr., DT, 6-3, 335, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Jarrett spearheaded a Pitt defensive effort that limited Akron to just 110 total yards in Saturday’s 24-7 win. The Panthers’ junior had three tackles for losses (eight yards) among his five total stops. When he was not making tackles, Jarrett was a disruptive force by plugging up running lanes. He played a major role in the Zips netting just 47 rush yards on 24 carries (just less than 2.0 yards per carry.).

​CO-DEFENSIVE LINEMAN – Shaq Lawson, Clemson, Jr., DE, 6-3, 275, Central, S.C.
Lawson had three tackles for loss, including a sack, in Clemson’s 41-10 win over Appalachian State.  Lawson’s big plays took place in the first half when the Tigers took a commanding 31-0 lead.  He had four tackles for the game and was a big reason Clemson’s pass rush helped limit Appalachian State to just 95 yards through the air and just nine completions in 28 attempts.

LINEBACKER – Shakeel Rashad, North Carolina, Sr., OLB, 6-2, 235, Jacksonville, Fla.
Rashad forced a fumble, intercepted a pass, broke up another and had two tackles – including a 10-yard tackle for loss – in North Carolina’s 53-14 win over North Carolina A&T.  In the first quarter, Rashad forced a fumble that was scooped up by teammate Sam Smiley and returned 52 yards to set up a UNC score. On the next NC A&T possession, Rashad picked off a pass to stop a promising Aggies’ drive.

CO-DEFENSIVE BACK – Jalen Ramsey, Florida State, Jr., CB, 6-1, 222, Smyrna, Tenn.
Ramsey proved dominant in shutting down his side of the field in Florida State’s 34-14 victory over USF. The junior cornerback was rarely tested but still had three pass break-ups and helped limit the Bulls to just 125 yards through the air (71 of which came on a broken play on the opposite side of Ramsey). He ranks second in the ACC and tied for fifth nationally with four passes broken up this season.

CO-DEFENSIVE BACK – Julian Whigham, Syracuse, Sr., CB, 6-1, 187, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Whigham had seven total tackles, including six solo stops, and broke up two passes as the Orange improved to 2-0 overall and posted a 30-17 win over Wake Forest at the Carrier Dome in their Atlantic Coast Conference opener.

SPECIALIST – Roberto Aguayo, Florida State, Jr.-r, PK, 6-1, 204, Mascotte, Fla.
Aguayo broke the ACC record for consecutive PATs (161) and officially became the most accurate kicker in the NCAA record books in the Seminoles’ 34-14 victory over USF on Saturday. Aguayo made field goals from 30 yards and 38 yards and nailed all four of his extra points. Aguayo needed to make 50 field goals in his career to qualify for NCAA records. He is now 51 of 55 on field goals (.927) – the highest percentage in college football history – and has made 212 of 216 career kicks (.982). The latter is also the best mark for combined PATs and field goals. 

ROOKIE – Eric Dungey, Syracuse, Fr., QB, 6-4, 195, Lake Oswego, Ore.
Making his first collegiate start, Dungey finished 8-of-13 for 221 yards – including touchdown throws of 89 and 53 yards – without throwing an interception in the Orange’s 30-17 win over visiting Wake Forest. The 89-yard touchdown pass was the third longest in school history. The Oregon native also ran the ball 12 times for 36 yards.