UVA Football set a school record with 700 yards of total offense in its 55-16 win over William & Mary, but that wasn’t good enough to get any ‘Hoos among the Week 3 ACC Football Players of the Week.
The honorees were selected by a vote of a select media panel.
Why not just share the names of these select folks?
It doesn’t have to remain a mystery.
Are they afraid of being doxxed?
ACC Football Players of the Week: Week 3
QB: Haynes King, R-Sr., QB, Georgia Tech (Longview, Texas)
- Accounted for 314 yards of offense (211 passing, 103 rushing) and engineered the game-winning drive in Georgia Tech’s 24-21 win over No. 12 Clemson.
- Topped 300 yards of total offense for the ninth time in 26 games at Georgia Tech, including the second time in his two games this season.
- The 100-yard rushing game was his fifth as a Yellow Jacket, and his second in his two games this season.
- Drove the Yellow Jackets 38 yards on their final possession to set up Aidan Birr’s game-winning 55-yard field goal as time expired.
- On the game-winning drive, King accounted for 36 of the Yellow Jackets’ 38 yards (18 passing, 18 rushing).
- Marks his second ACC Quarterback of the Week honor this season.
Tailback: Micah Ford, So., RB, Stanford (Toms River, New Jersey)
- Ran the ball 17 times for a career-high 157 yards and one rushing touchdown in the win over Boston College in the ACC opener.
- Finished with the most rushing yards in a game by a Cardinal running back since Bryce Love on November 10, 2017, against Washington.
- Ripped off a 75-yard rush in the third quarter for the longest rush of his career and the longest run by a Cardinal since E.J. Smith’s 87-yard rush against Colgate in the 2022 season opener.
- Has rushed for over 100 yards in two of the first three games to begin the 2025 season.
Wideout: Darrell Gill Jr., Jr., WR, Syracuse (Atascocita, Texas)
- Led all Syracuse receivers with six catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Colgate.
- Had a highlight reel touchdown catch that was SportsCenter’s No. 1 play on Friday, September 12.
- All six of his receptions came in the first half of the rout.
O line: Keylan Rutledge, Sr., RG, Georgia Tech (Royston, Georgia)
- All-America right guard was a key catalyst for Georgia Tech’s offense in its 24-21 win over No. 12 Clemson.
- Led by Rutledge, Georgia Tech’s offensive front paved the way for the Yellow Jackets’ 147 rushing yards – including 103 by quarterback Haynes King – against a Clemson defense that came into the game allowing just 93.0 yards per game on the ground.
- Was especially impressive on Tech’s final possession, as the Jackets powered their way into field-goal range, setting up Aidan Birr’s 55-yard game-winner as time expired.
D line: Isaiah Shirley, R-So., DT, NC State (Boone, North Carolina)
- Started in the Wolfpack’s win over Wake Forest at defensive tackle – his first career start at the position.
- In the first quarter, picked off a Demon Deacon pass and rumbled 41 yards for a touchdown. That play changed the momentum of the game for the Pack, which had started the game down 14-0.
- Tallied three total tackles in the contest, while playing 27 snaps (plus 8 on special teams).
Linebacker: Mikai Gbayor, Gr., LB, North Carolina (Irvington, New Jersey)
- Recorded six tackles in the Tar Heels’ 41-6 victory over Richmond on Saturday.
- Also recorded a strip sack, leading to North Carolina’s first takeaway of the day, as well as a 62-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.
- The fumble recovery was Carolina’s first for a touchdown since 2021, and the first of his career.
- Helped the Tar Heels’ defensive unit keep their opponents out of the end zone for the second-straight week, marking the first since the 2012 season.
Defensive secondary: Omar Daniels, R-Sr., DB, Georgia Tech (Moultrie, Georgia)
- Was at the center of both of Clemson’s turnovers in Georgia Tech’s 24-21 win over the No. 12-ranked Tigers.
- Became just the 13th Georgia Tech player since 2005 with a forced fumble and an interception in the same game.
- Forced a fumble that led to a Georgia Tech field goal in the first quarter.
- Intercepted a pass in the red zone to thwart a Clemson scoring opportunity in the third quarter.
- The first Yellow Jacket with a forced fumble and an interception in the same game since current Los Angeles Charger Kyle Kennard versus South Carolina State in 2023.
- The first Yellow Jacket to accomplish that feat against an FBS opponent since Bruce Jordan-Swilling at Virginia in 2017.
- Finished with seven tackles to go along with the two forced turnovers.
Special teams: Aidan Birr, R-Jr., PK, Georgia Tech (Kennedale, Texas)
- Was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals, including a game-winning, school-record-tying 55-yarder as time expired that lifted Georgia Tech to a 24-21 win over No. 12 Clemson.
- His 55-yard field goal was Georgia Tech’s longest field goal since David Bell matched the school record versus Georgia in 1986.
- His game-winning field goal was just the sixth walk-off field goal in Georgia Tech program history and the first since his own 44-yard walk-off kick in the Yellow Jackets’ 24-21 win over No. 10 Florida State on August 24, 2024, in Dublin, Ireland.
- He was also good from 40 and 42 yards for the contest.
Rookie: Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, Fr., QB, California (Ewa Beach, Hawaii)
- Threw for a career-high 279 yards and matched his career-best with three touchdown passes in a 27-14 victory over Minnesota.
- Completed 24-of-38 passes without an interception and finished with a 150.9 passer rating.
- Helped lead Cal to a 3-0 start for the second straight season.
- His 780 passing yards this season are the most among all freshmen.
- Marks his second ACC Rookie of the Week honor this season.
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Chris Graham
