Maye, Kancey, Elko, Verse highlight AP All-ACC selections

By GARY B. GRAVES
AP Sports Writer

North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye is the unanimous choice as The Associated Press offensive player of the year in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Pittsburgh tackle Calijah Kancey was named the league’s top defensive player.

Duke’s Mike Elko, whose Blue Devils improved five games to 8-4 and earned a Military Bowl berth in his first season, is coach of the year in results released Tuesday following voting by 14 media members who cover the conference.

ACC champion Clemson had four first-team selections among six players overall. Tigers sophomore Will Shipley, who has rushed for 1,110 yards and 15 touchdowns this season, earned dual honors as first team running back and all-purpose player.

Kancey repeated as a first-team selection after recording 14.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks this season. He led Pittsburgh’s five-player contingent that included punishing rusher Israel Abanikanda, a unanimous first-team choice. The junior had a league-best 1,431 yards rushing with 20 TDs.

Maye, a redshirt freshman and the younger brother of former Tar Heels basketball star Luke Maye, passed for 4,115 yards and 35 TDs as UNC won the Coastal Division title. Tar Heels receiver Josh Downs (1,029 yards, 11 TDs) was also a unanimous first-team selection.

Florida State and North Carolina State, both bowl bound, also had six players chosen. Seminoles defensive end Jared Verse, who tied with Kancey in tackles for loss and sacks, was voted newcomer of the year after transferring from Albany.

The 2022 Associated Press All-Atlantic Coast Conference team, as selected by a panel of 14 sports writers who regularly cover the league. Players at all positions are listed alphabetically with name, school, height, weight, class and hometown; “u-” denotes unanimous selections:

First team

Offense

u_QB — Drake Maye, North Carolina, 6-4, 220, r-fr., Huntersville, North Carolina

u_RB — Israel Abanikanda, Pittsburgh, 5-11, 215, jr., New York, New York

RB — Will Shipley, Clemson, 5-11, 205, soph., Weddington, N.C.

u_WR — Josh Downs, North Carolina, 5-10, 175, jr., Suwanee, Georgia

WR — Zay Flowers, Boston College, 5-10, 172, sr., Fort Lauderdale, Florida

TE — Oronde Gadsden II, Syracuse, 6-5, 216, soph., Fort Lauderdale, Florida

OT — Jordan McFadden, Clemson, 6-2, 305, sr., Spartanburg, S.C.

OT — Graham Barton, Duke, 6-5, 311, jr., Brentwood, Texas

OG — Dillan Gibbons, Florida State, 6-5, 327, sr., Saint Petersburg, Florida

OG — Marcus Minor, Pittsburgh, 6-4, 325, sr., Lanham, Maryland

C — Grant Gibson, North Carolina State, 6-1, 310, grad., Charlotte, North Carolina

u_K — Chris Dunn, North Carolina State, 5-8, 170, grad., Lexington, North Carolina

All-purpose player — Will Shipley, Clemson

Defense

DE — Jared Verse, Florida State, 6-4, 251, soph., Berwick, Pennsylvania

DE — K.J. Henry, Clemson, 6-4, 255, grad., Winston-Salem, North Carolina

u_DT — Calijah Kancey, Pittsburgh, 6-0, 280, jr., Miami

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

LB — Yasir Abdullah, Louisville, 6-1, 242, sr., Miramar, Fla.

LB — Drake Thomas, North Carolina State, 6-0, 230, jr., Wake Forest, North Carolina

LB — Cedric Gray, North Carolina, 6-2, 230, jr., Charlotte, North Carolina

CB — Ayden White, North Carolina State, 6-0, 185, soph., Asheville, North Carolina

CB — Anthony Johnson, Virginia, 6-2, 205, grad., Coconut Creek, Florida

S — Kam Kinchens, Miami, 5-11, 202, soph., Miami

S — Jammie Robinson, Florida State, 5-11, 203, jr., Cordele, Georgia

P — Lou Hedley, Miami, 6-4, 220, sr., Mandurah, Australia

Second team

Offense

QB — Jordan Travis, Florida State, 6-1, 212, jr., West Palm Beach, Florida

RB — Sean Tucker, Syracuse, 5-10, 210, soph., Owings Mills, Maryland

RB — Trey Benson, Florida State, 6-1, 215, soph., Greenville, Mississippi

WR — A.T. Perry, Wake Forest, 6-5, 205, jr., Lake Worth, Florida

WR — Tyler Hudson, Louisville, 6-2, 195, sr., Spring, Texas

TE — Will Mallory, Miami, 6-5, 245, sr., Jacksonville, Florida

OT — Matthew Bergeron, Syracuse, 6-5, 322, jr., Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada

OT — Robert Scott Jr., Florida State, 6-5, 334, soph., Conway, Arkansas

OG — Chandler Zavala, North Carolina State, 6-5, 325, grad., Boynton Beach, Florida

OG — Sean Maginn, Wake Forest, 6-3, 304, sr., Suwanee, Georgia

C — Bryan Hudson, Louisville, 6-4, 301, r-jr., Georgetown, Kentucky

K — B.T. Potter, Clemson, 5-10, 200, grad., Rock Hill, South Carolina

All-purpose player — Jalon Calhoun, Duke, 5-11, 189, sr., Greenville, South Carollina

Defense

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

DE — Donovan Ezeiruaku, Boston College, 6-2, 236, so., Williamstown, New Jersey

DT — DeWayne Carter, Duke, 6-3, 298, r-jr., Pickerington, Ohio

DT — Kobie Turner, Wake Forest, 6-3, 290, sr., Clifton, Virginia

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

LB — Mikel Jones, Syracuse, 6-1, 224, jr., Miami, Florida

LB — Nick Jackson, Virginia, 6-1, 234, sr., Atlanta

LB — Ayinde Eley, Georgia Tech, 6-3, 233, sr., Olney, Maryland

LB — Isaiah Moore, North Carolina State, 6-2, 232, grad., Chester, Virginia

LB — Charlie Thomas, Georgia Tech, 6-2, 207, sr., Thomasville, Georgia

CB — Fentrell Cypress II, Virginia, 6-0, 184, jr., Rock Hill, South Carolina

CB — Storm Duck, North Carolina, 6-0, 200, jr., Boiling Springs, South Carolina

S — Erick Hallett II, 5-11, 190, sr., Cypress, Texas

S — Tanner Ingle, North Carolina State, 5-10, 186, sr., Orlando, Florida

P — Daniel Sparks, Virginia, 6-6, 203, jr., Gadsden, Alabama

Coach of the Year — Mike Elko, Duke

Offensive Player of the Year — Drake Maye, North Carolina

Defensive Player of the Year — Calijah Kancey, Pittsburgh

Newcomer of the Year — Jared Verse, Florida State

Voting panel:

Mike Barber, Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch; Jonathan Blau, Charleston (South Carolina) Post and Courier; Rick Bozich, WDRB-TV, Louisville, Kentucky; Jerry DiPaola, Tribune Total Media, Pittsburgh; Joe Giglio, WRAL/99.9 The Fan, Raleigh, North Carolina; Trevor Hass, Boston Globe; Adam Lichtenstein, South Florida Sun Sentinel; Nate Mink, Syracuse (New York), Post-Standard; Brian Murphy, WRALsportsfan.com, Raleigh, North Carolina; Matt Murschel, Orlando (Florida) Sentinel; Ken Suguira, Atlanta Journal-Constitution; David Teel, Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch; David Thompson, Fayetteville (North Carolina) Observer; Steve Wiseman, Durham (North Carolina) Herald-Sun.