ACC Football Players of the Week: Standouts in Week 5

The ACC Football Players of the Week have been recognized following their standout performances in last weekend’s games.

The selections are determined by a vote of a 15-member media panel. The following are this week’s honorees:

QUARTERBACK – Alex Hornibrook, Florida State, Sr., QB, West Chester, Pa.
Hornibrook threw for a career-high 316 yards and three touchdowns in FSU’s 31-13 win over NC State • In his first start as a Seminole, Hornibrook did not turn the ball over in a career-high 40 pass attempts and had five touchdowns without a turnover in the past two weeks • Hornibrook threw touchdowns of 40, 43 and 9 yards.

RUNNING BACK – AJ Dillon, Boston College, Jr., RB, New London, Conn.
Dillon earned ACC weekly running back honors for the third consecutive week after he posted his third straight 150-yard rushing performance with 23 carries for 159 yards in Saturday’s 27-24 loss to visiting Wake Forest • It marked his 10th career game with 150-plus rushing yards, second among active NCAA players • With 15 games of 100 rushing yards or more, Dillon now ranks fifth on the Eagles’ all-time list • He also had a 33-yard reception on Saturday to finish with 192 all-purpose yards.

RECEIVER – Tee Higgins, Clemson, Jr., WR, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Higgins recorded game highs with six receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown in Saturday’s 21-20 road win at North Carolina • Higgins’ 38-yard touchdown reception on a pass from Trevor Lawrence with 9:54 remaining accounted for the Tigers’ winning score.

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN – Jack Wohlabaugh, Duke, Jr., C, Akron, Ohio
Wohlabaugh spearheaded a Duke offense that produced 45 points, 24 first downs and 422 total yards In Friday night’s 45-10 win at Virginia Tech • The Blue Devils committed zero turnovers, surrendered zero sacks and converted 7 of 14 third-down snaps • Wohlabaugh opened holes for a rushing attack that compiled 234 yards on 41 attempts (5.7 yards per rush) and three touchdowns while allowing just four total negative yards on the night • He also provided protection for a Duke passing game that completed 21 of 28 pass attempts (.750) for 188 yards and three touchdowns while not surrendering a sack for the third straight game.

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN – Larrell Murchison, NC State, Sr., DT, Elizabethtown, N.C.
Murchison led the Wolfpack with 3.5 of his team’s eight quarterback sacks against Florida State on Saturday night • It marked the third-highest individual single-game total in school history (only former NC State All-American Mario Williams had more in a game with four twice) • Two of Murchison’s sacks were third-down stops • Murchison tallied six total tackles on the night and also accounted for a pair of quarterback hurries.

LINEBACKER – Koby Quansah, Duke, Sr., LB, Manchester, Conn.
Quansah had a game-high 13 tackles, a fumble recovery, a half-sack and a pass breakup in the Blue Devils’ 45-10 win at Virginia Tech • His fumble recovery in the second quarter led to Duke’s first touchdown, which jump-started a run of 31 unanswered points for the Blue Devils • He led a Duke defense that limited Virginia Tech to 259 yards of total offense after the Hokies entered the week averaging 27.7 points and 398.3 total yards per game • Virginia Tech went just 4 of 12 (.333) on third-down conversions after entering the week leading the ACC with a .522 third-down conversion rate • He helped stymie a Virginia Tech aerial game into 8 of 20 passing for 120 yards and only two completions of more than 10 yards.

DEFENSIVE BACK – Cyrus Fagan, Florida State, Jr., S, Daytona Beach, Fla.
Fagan made his fourth start of the year and led FSU with a career-high 10 tackles (eight solo) and a fumble recovery in FSU’s 31-13 win over NC State • Fagan’s fumble recovery in the second quarter came with the game tied • He added a pass breakup in the fourth quarter.

SPECIALIST – Sterling Hofrichter, Syracuse, Sr., P/PK, Valrico, Fla.
Hofrichter punted five times for 215 yards (43.0 avg.) with a net average of 42 yards per punt in Saturday’s win over Holy Cross • Four of his five punts were downed inside the 20-yard line with three resulting in fair catches • Two of his punts traveled at least 50 yards • With 10,021 career yards in 42 career games, Hofrichter became the fifth Orange punter to eclipse the 10,000-yard mark for his career • He also connected on a 52-yard field goal in the first quarter that gave the Orange a 17-0 lead • It was Hofrichter’s first field goal of the season and the longest make of his career.

ROOKIE – Amari Gainer, Florida State, R-Fr., LB, Tallahassee, Fla.
In his first career start, Gainer finished with nine tackles, a pair of sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss in FSU’s 31-13 win over NC State • The Tallahassee native also forced a fumble on NC State’s final drive at the goal line to prevent a Wolfpack touchdown • Gainer had both of Florida State’s sacks on the evening.