Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Atlantic Coast Conference Announces Football Players of the Week

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Three Boston College student-athletes received Atlantic Coast Conference weekly football honors following Saturday night’s 37-31 upset win over ninth-ranked Southern California.

Tyler Murphy, whose 191 yards rushing were the second-most by a quarterback in conference history, was recognized as the ACC Offensive Back of the Week. Eagles center Andy Gallik, who led the blocking up front, was named the ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week. Senior Josh Keyes picked up ACC Linebacker of the Week honors after leading a defensive unit that limited the Trojans to 20 yards on the ground in Boston College’s first win over a ranked team since November of 2008 and first over a Top-10 opponent in a decade.

Virginia, which posted a 23-21 upset win over No. 21 Louisville in the weekend’s lone league game, saw strong safety Anthony Harris recognized as ACC Defensive Back of the Week, while place-kicker Ian Frye was named the ACC Specialist of the Week.

Miami senior Phillip Dorsett was named the ACC Receiver of the Week, while Wake Forest sophomore tackle Josh Banks was recognized as the ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week, and Duke’s Shaun Wilson was tabbed as the ACC Freshman of the Week.

Wilson, who rushed for a school-record 245 yards in Duke’s 41-3 win over Kansas, was also named the National Freshman of the Week by Athlon Sports. Virginia’s Frye, whose late-game field goal accounted for the winning points against Louisville, was named one of three Lou Groza Award Kicking Stars of the Week. Miami’s Dorsett, who amassed 201 reception yards on just four catches in a 41-20 win over Arkansas State, was one of five players named to the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll for week three.

OFFENSIVE BACK – Tyler Murphy, Boston College, Gr., QB, 6-2, 213, Wethersfield, Conn.
Murphy led the Eagles to the upset of No. 9 Southern California with a career-high 191 yards on 13 carries, averaging 14.7 yards per carry against a Trojan defense that allowed just 128 total rushing yards to 13th-ranked Stanford in week two and only 4.0 yards per rush in its first two games. Murphy scored a rushing touchdown for the third straight game and tallied over 100 yards on the ground for the second time in 2014 and in his career. He also recorded a career-long 66-yard touchdown run, the longest of the season for the Eagles, which put BC up 37-24 with 3:30 to play.

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN – Andy Gallik, Boston College, Gr., C, 6-3, 304, Evergreen Park, Ill.
Gallik led the offensive line, starting in his 31st career game, as the Eagles rushed for 452 yards and totaled 506 yards on the day against a USC defense that had allowed just 285 total rushing yards over the first two games. For the second time in 2014, Gallik led an offensive line that helped the Eagles to a 500-yard offensive output. The Eagles also scored five rushing touchdowns on the night, while quarterback Tyler Murphy and running backs Jon Hilliman, Myles Willis and Sherman Alston all put up career days for rushing yards. Gallik graded out at 85 percent and had three knockdowns against the ninth-ranked Trojans.

RECEIVER – Phillip Dorsett, Miami, Sr., WR, 5-10, 180, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Dorsett recorded a career-high 201 receiving yards and two touchdowns on four catches in the Hurricanes’ 41-20 win over Arkansas State. He is the nation’s only receiver this season to record three catches of 50-plus yards in the same game. The career day for Dorsett marks just the third time in program history that a player had over 200 receiving yards in a game. Dorsett became the second receiver in the nation this season with two touchdown catches of at least 60 yards in the same game and the first ACC player with two TD catches of 60-plus yards in the same game since 2011.

Josh Banks
DEFENSIVE LINEMAN – Josh Banks, Wake Forest, So.-r, DT, 6-4, 250, Apex, N.C.
Banks had seven tackles (three solo, four assists), a sack and two tackles for loss in the Demon Deacons’ 36-24 loss at Utah State on Saturday. In addition, Banks intercepted a pass and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown, marking the longest interception return for a score ever by a Wake Forest defensive tackle.

LINEBACKER – Josh Keyes, Boston College, Sr., LB, 6-2, 223, Ghent, N.Y.
Keyes helped the Eagles’ defense stifle ninth-ranked USC’s running attack, as the Trojans netted just 20 rushing yards on the night. In the first two games of the season, Southern Cal averaged 216.5 yards on the ground per game. Keyes recorded eight total tackles, including seven solo stops. Of his eight tackles, 5.5 were tackles for a loss and included a sack. On third-and-four at the USC 42, and the Eagles up by 10 in the fourth quarter, Keyes sacked USC quarterback Cody Kessler for a loss of eight yards, forcing a punt which would eventually lead to a BC field goal.

DEFENSIVE BACK – Anthony Harris, Virginia, Sr., SS, 6-1, 185, Chesterfield, Va.
Harris had eight tackles and one interception in Virginia’s 23-21 upset of No. 21 Louisville. The UVa defense limited Louisville to just 282 yards of total offense as the Cavaliers picked up the win in their conference opener.

SPECIALIST – Ian Frye, Virginia, Jr., PK, 6-6, 200, Bristol, Va.
Frye made all three of his field goal attempts, including the game-winner, in Virginia’s win over Louisville. Frye’s game- winning kick was a 42-yarder with 3:42 to play. Earlier in the game he converted field goals from 35 and 47 yards. His 47-yarder was the second-longest by an ACC player this season. Frye also converted two PAT attempts.

Shaun Wilson
ROOKIE – Shaun Wilson, Duke, Fr., RB, 5-9, 180, Charlotte, N.C.

Wilson set the Duke single-game record for rushing yards with 245 yards on 12 attempts in Saturday’s 41-3 win over visiting Kansas, breaking the previous mark of 238 yards set by Robert Baldwin versus Maryland in 1994. Wilson is the first FBS player since at least 2000 to rush for 240 or more yards on 12 or fewer carries. Wilson rushed for three touchdowns on runs of 45, 68 and 69 yards to match the Duke single-game record for total points (18) by a freshman, equaling the standard set by DeVon Edwards vs. NC State in 2013. Wilson’s rushing yardage total marks the fourth-highest single-game total by a freshman in ACC history, trailing North Carolina’s Amos Lawrence (286 versus Virginia in 1977), Virginia Tech’s Darren Evans (253 versus Maryland in 2008) and Wake Forest’s James McDougald (249 versus Clemson in 1976).