Thirteen Canes Earn ACC Honors
GREENSBORO, N.C. – A total of 13 University of Miami football players were honored Wednesday by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) as the league announced its 2014 All-Conference Team, as selected by the 14 head coaches.
Senior center Shane McDermott, junior running back Duke Duke Johnson and senior linebacker Denzel Perryman highlighted the league’s All-Conference squad as each received ACC First Team honors.
McDermott earned first team honors after he started every game during the 2014 campaign and helped the Canes’ offense average 431.0 yards per game.
Johnson’s First Team honor came after he finished the regular season ranked second among ACC rushers with 1,520 yards in 12 games and moved to the top of Miami’s all-time rushing list with 3,387 career yards. He also posted six-consecutive games of 100 or more rushing yards during one stretch and ranking among the nation’s rushing leaders throughout the season. He also finished seventh in the league’s Player of the Year voting.
Perryman concluded the year after leading the team in tackles with 102. He also tallied a team-best 8.5 tackles for loss and recorded 2.0 sacks. The Coral Gables native also was a finalist for the 2014 Butkus Award.
Also earning recognition from the league’s coaches was quarterback Brad Kaaya as he was selected as both the Overall and Offensive Rookie of the Year. Kaaya received seven coaches’ votes for overall ACC Rookie of the Year and 10 for ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year following a 2014 regular season in which he leads the league in pass efficiency (148.2) and touchdown passes (25). The West Hills, California, currently ranks second among ACC quarterbacks in passing yards with 2,962 and fifth in total offense with 236.5 yards per game.
ACC Second Team honorees included senior wide receiver Phillip Dorsett, junior offensive lineman Ereck Flowers and senior tight end Clive Walford.
Dorsett earned All-ACC Second Team honors after he posted a league-best 26.6 yards per catch and led the Canes with nine receiving touchdowns.
Walford got the Second Team nod following a breakout 2014 campaign where led the team in receptions, finishing the year with 44 catches. He also was second on the squad in touchdown receptions with seven. He concluded the regular season with 676 receiving yards, which led all ACC tight ends.
Flowers was awarded with Second Team recognition establishing himself as a mainstay at left tackle for the Canes, starting in 10 of Miami’s 12 games this season. He also paved the way for an offensive unit which averaged over 400 yards per game.
Senior defensive lineman Anthony Chickillo and sophomore punter Justin Vogel earned All-ACC Third Team honors.
Chickillo was named to the team after posted 38 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. Vogel earned the Third Team selection following a 2014 season where he averaged 43.7 yards per punt and dropped 21 punts inside the 20-yard line.
Senior offensive lineman Jon Feliciano, junior defensive back Deon Bush, junior defensive lineman Olsen Pierre and defensive back Artie Burns rounded out the list of ACC honorees as they were named Honorable Mention.
Under the observation of the ACC, the league’s 14 head football coaches voted for an All-ACC football team, as well as Players of the Year, Rookies of the Year and a Coach of the Year award. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players and ballots were worth three points for each first-team, two points for each second-team and one point for each third-team selection.
The 2014 Coaches All-ACC team was similar to the All-ACC squad announced last week by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA), as the two voting bodies agreed on all of the major award winners.
Twenty-three of the 26 first-team selections to the 2014 ACC Coaches’ All-ACC team were also first-team selections to the ACSMA All-ACC announced on Dec. 1.
