NC State first-team All-American offensive tackle Joe Thuney, who was one of the semifinalists for the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame’s William V. Campbell Trophy, Virginia linebacker Micah Kiser, who led the ACC in tackles, Duke safety DeVon Edwards, who led the ACC in kickoff return average, and Blue Devil defensive tackle A.J. Wolf, who was named a CoSIDA first-team Academic All-American, head the 56-person 2015 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Football Team announced Wednesday by Commissioner John Swofford.
To be eligible for consideration for the team, a student-athlete must have earned a 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during his undergraduate academic career. Graduate students needed to maintain at least a 3.5 grade point average for both the previous semester and for their graduate school careers.
All 14 ACC schools were represented on the team. The ACC has selected an All-ACC Academic Football team every year since 1954.
The team was chosen from a pool of 140 ACC football student-athletes who were nominated by their schools.
Thuney, a redshirt senior from Centerville, Ohio, earned first-team All-American honors from USA Today. Thuney, Kiser and Edwards were among the 11 members of the team who earned first-, second- or third-team All-ACC honors. Thuney, Kiser and Edwards were all named first-team All-ACC by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA).
Kiser, a sophomore linebacker from Baltimore, Md., led the ACC in tackles, averaging 9.8 hits a game. Edwards, a junior from Covington, Ga., averaged 29.2 yards a kickoff return with three returns for TDs. He was selected first-team All-ACC specialist by ACSMA.
Wolf, a junior from Greenwich, Conn., led three members of the team who earned CoSiDA Academic All-American honors. Wolf earned selection to the first team, while Edwards and Duke senior placekicker Ross Martin (Solon, Ohio) were each named second-team CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.
Edwards, Martin and Wolf were among 13 Blue Devils selected for the team, the most of any ACC school. Virginia was next with six selections, followed by Pitt with five; and Miami, Syracuse, and Virginia Tech with four each.
In addition to Thuney, three other members of the team were named semifinalists for the NFF’s William V. Campbell Trophy—the nation’s academic Heisman. Joining him were Martin, Virginia placekicker Ian Frye (Bristol., Va.) and Wake Forest senior linebacker Hunter Williams (Wake Forest, N.C.).
Besides Thuney receiving first-team All-America accolades, four other members of the team were named honorable mention All-Americans by SI.com, in Edwards, Martin, Clemson junior linebacker Ben Boulware (Anderson, S.C.) and North Carolina sophomore running back Elijah Hood (Charlotte, N.C.).
Two members of the team, Pitt safety Jordan Whitehead (Aliquippa, Pa.), the ACC’s Rookie of the Year, and Clemson defensive tackle Christian Wilkins (Springfield Mass.) earned first-team Freshman All-American honors. Three others were honorable mention Freshman All-Americans in Duke linebacker Tinashe Bere (Cincinnati, Ohio), Louisville offensive tackle Geron Christian (Ocala, Fla.) and Georgia Tech freshman running back Marcus Marshall (Raleigh, N.C.).
In all, 11 members of the All-ACC Academic team also earned some sort of selection—either from ACSMA or the ACC Coaches–to the conference’s All-ACC football team, including Thuney, Kiser, Edwards, Boulware, Hood,Clemson senior offensive guard Eric Mac Lain (Hope Mills, N.C.) and Pitt senior offensive tackle Adam Bisnowaty (Pittsburgh, Pa.), who were all first-team selections. Joining them on the second team was Martin of Duke, with Whitehead, Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Duke punter Will Monday (Flowery Branch, Ga.) earning third-team honors.
Five more Academic team members earned Honorable Mention All-ACC honors in Christian, Georgia Tech senior offensive tackle Trey Braun (Tallahassee, Fla.), Miami junior punter Justin Vogel (Tampa, Fla.), North Carolina junior placekicker Nick Weiler (Fairfax Station, Va.), Pitt sophomore cornerback Avonte Maddox (Detroit, Mich.) and Virginia junior punter Nicholas Conte (Roanoke, Va.).
Weiler led all ACC placekickers in field goal percentage, making 20 of 23 three-point attempts (.870), while Duke’s Martin was second, having converted on 26 of his 30 attempts (.867).
Three members of the team—Duke’s Martin, Monday and senior running back Shaquille Powell (Las Vegas, Nev.)–earned selection for the fourth time in their careers, becoming only the 20th, 21st and 22nd ACC student-athletes to do so.
Five members of the team earned selection for the third time in their careers in Thuney, Edwards, Bisnowaty, Syracuse senior offensive guard Rob Trudo (Farrell, Pa.) and Wake Forest junior safety Ryan Janvion (Pembroke Pines, Fla.).
Fourteen others earned repeat selections to the team in Boulware, Hood, Vogel, Maddox, Williams, Boston College junior defensive end Ken Kavalec (Middleburg Heights, Ohio), Duke junior quarterback Thomas Sirk (Glen St. Mary, Fla.), Duke junior offensive guard Tanner Stone (Dallas, Texas), Florida State sophomore centerRyan Hoefeld (New Orleans, La.), Pitt junior tight end Scott Orndoff (Waynesboro, Pa.), Virginia junior safetyWil Wahee (Norfolk, Va.), Virginia Tech cornerback Brandon Facyson (Newnan, Ga.), Virginia Tech junior safetyChuck Clark (Suffolk, Va.) and Wake Forest sophomore quarterback John Wolford (Jacksonville, Fla.).
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Chris Graham
