Pickett, No. 13 Pitt headline AP All-ACC honors for 2021

Published 11:55 pm Monday, December 6, 2021

By Aaron Beard
AP Sports Writer

Newly crowned Atlantic Coast Conference champion Pittsburgh headlines The Associated Press All-ACC teams and individual awards for the 2021 season.

The 13th-ranked Panthers had a league-best seven selections in results released Monday after voting by 14 sports writers who cover the conference. That list included quarterback Kenny Pickett as the unanimous choice for offensive player of the year, as well as national receiving touchdown leader Jordan Addison being an unanimous first-team pick at receiver.

Pittsburgh won the program’s first ACC championship on Saturday night by beating No. 20 Wake Forest 45-21 in Charlotte. Demon Deacons coach Dave Clawson was voted as league coach of the year, while Florida State defensive end Jermaine Johnson II was named top defensive player and Miami freshman quarterback Tyler Van Dyke was chosen top newcomer.

Syracuse running back Sean Tucker, North Carolina State offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu and Wake Forest kicker Nick Sciba joined Pickett, Addison and Johnson as unanimous picks to the 51-player squad. Clemson tied Pittsburgh with seven selections, while Wake Forest and N.C. State each had six picks.

The 2021 Associated Press All-Atlantic Coast Conference team, as selected by a panel of 14 sports writers who regularly cover the league for newspapers or broadcast outlets. Players at all positions are listed alphabetically with name, school, height, weight, class and hometown; “u-” denotes unanimous selections:

First team

Offense

u-QB — Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh, 6-3, 220, r-sr., Oakhurst, New Jersey

u-RB — Sean Tucker, Syracuse, 5-10, 210, fr.(asterisk), Owings Mills, Maryland

RB — Mataeo Durant, Duke, 6-1, 195, sr., Plum Branch, South Carolina

u-WR — Jordan Addison, Pittsburgh, 6-0, 175, so., Frederick, Maryland

WR — Josh Downs, North Carolina, 5-10, 180, so., Suwanee, Georgia

TE — Jelani Woods, Virginia, 6-7, 265, gr., Ellenwood, Georgia

u-OT — Ikem Ekwonu, North Carolina State, 6-4, 320, so., Charlotte, North Carolina

OT — Zach Tom, Wake Forest, 6-5, 295, r-jr., Prairieville, Louisiana

OG — Zion Johnson, Boston College, 6-3, 316, gr., Bowie, Maryland

OG — Caleb Chandler, Louisville, 6-4, 313, r-jr., Jefferson, Georgia

C — Alec Lindstrom, Boston College, 6-3, 298, gr., Dudley, Massachusetts

All-purpose player — Jahmyr Gibbs, Georgia Tech, 5-11, 200, fr.(asterisk), Dalton, Georgia

u-K — Nick Sciba, Wake Forest, 5-9, 191, jr., Clover, South Carolina

Defense

u-DE — Jermaine Johnson II, Florida State, 6-5, 262, r-sr., Eden Prairie, Minnesota

DE — Cody Roscoe, Syracuse, 6-1, 275, sr., Houston

DT — Calijah Kancey, Pittsburgh, 6-0, 275, r-so., Miami

DT — Cory Durden, North Carolina State, 6-4, 310, gr., Newberry, Florida

LB — Mikel Jones, Syracuse, 6-1, 220, so., Miami

LB — James Skalski, Clemson, 6-0, 240, gr., Sharpsburg, Georgia

LB — Drake Thomas, North Carolina State, 6-0, 238, so., Wake Forest, North Carolina

CB — Mario Goodrich, Clemson, 6-0, 190, sr., Kansas City, Missouri

CB — Andrew Booth Jr., Clemson, 6-0, 200, jr., Dacula, Georgia

S — Jammie Robinson, Florida State, 5-11, 193, r-so., Cordele, Georgia

S — Tanner Ingle, North Carolina State, 5-10, 182, jr., Orlando, Florida

P — Trenton Gill, North Carolina State, 6-4, 219, r-jr., Hillsborough, North Carolina

Second team

Offense

QB — Brennan Armstrong, Virginia (tie), 6-2, 215, jr., Shelby, Ohio

QB — Sam Hartman, Wake Forest (tie), 6-1, 208, r-so., Charlotte, North Carolina

RB — Ty Chandler, North Carolina, 6-0, 210, gr., Nashville, Tennessee

RB — Pat Garwo III, Boston College, 5-8, 214, r-so., Levittown, Pennsylvania

WR — A.T. Perry, Wake Forest, 6-5, 206, r-so., Lake Worth, Florida

WR — Dontayvion Wicks, Virginia, 6-1, 205, so., Plaquemine, Louisiana

TE — Marshon Ford, Louisville, 6-2, 240, r-so., Louisville, Kentucky

OT — Jordan McFadden, Clemson, 6-2, 310, jr.(asterisk), Spartanburg, South Carolina

OT — Carter Warren, Pittsburgh, 6-5, 315, r-sr., Paterson, New Jersey

OG — Christian Mahogany, Boston College, 6-3, 318, r-so., Elmwood Park, New Jersey

OG — D.J. Scaife Jr., Miami, 6-3, 306, jr., Miami

C — Olusegun Oluwatimi, Virginia, 6-3, 310, sr., Upper Marlboro, Maryland

All-purpose player — Zonovan Knight, North Carolina State, 5-11, 210, so., Bailey, North Carolina

K — B.T. Potter, Clemson, 5-10, 190, sr., Rock Hill, South Carolina

Defense

DE — Myles Murphy, Clemson, 6-5, 275, so., Marietta, Georgia

DE — Habakkuk Baldonado, Pittsburgh, 6-5, 260, r-jr., Rome, Italy

DT — Tyler Davis, Clemson, 6-2, 300, jr., Apopka, Florida

DT — Miles Fox, Wake Forest, 6-1, 297, r-sr., Lawrenceville, Georgia

LB — Yasir Abdullah, Louisville, 6-1, 235, jr., Miramar, Florida

LB — Nick Jackson, Virginia, 6-1, 240, jr., Atlanta

LB — SirVocea Dennis, Pittsburgh, 6-1, 230, jr., Syracuse, New York

CB — Josh DeBerry, Boston College, 5-11, 176, jr., Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan

CB — Jermaine Waller, Virginia Tech, 6-1, 180, jr., Washington, District of Columbia

S — Traveon Redd, Wake Forest, 6-0, 201, r-sr., Martinsville, Virginia

S — Brandon Hill, Pittsburgh, 5-11, 195, r-so., Apopka, Florida

P — Lou Hedley, Miami, 6-4, 225, r-jr., Mandurah, Australia

Coach of the year — Dave Clawson, Wake Forest

Offensive player of the year — Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh

Defensive player of the year — Jermaine Johnson II, Florida State

Newcomer of the year — Tyler Van Dyke, QB, Miami

Voting panel: Mike Barber, The Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch; Rick Bozich, WDRB-TV, Louisville, Kentucky; Lauren Brownlow, WRAL.com, Raleigh, North Carolina; Alexis Cubit, The State of Columbia, South Carolina; Tom D’Angelo, Palm Beach (Florida) Post; Jerry DiPaola, (Pittsburgh) Tribune Total Media; Trevor Hass, Boston.com; Ethan Joyce, The Winston-Salem (North Carolina) Journal; Nate Mink, The Post-Standard of Syracuse, New York; Jonas Pope, The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina/The Herald-Sun of Durham, North Carolina; Ken Sugiura, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; David Teel, The Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch; Curt Weiler, Tallahassee (Florida) Democrat; Steve Wiseman, The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina/The Herald-Sun of Durham, North Carolina.