Five Tigers Named to Academic All-ACC Team

Feb. 15, 2012

CLEMSON, SC – Five Clemson football players, four of whom return as active squad members for the 2012 season, have been named to the All-ACC Academic team. The list includes center Dalton Freeman, wide receiver Jaron Brown, tight end Brandon Ford, punter Dawson Zimmerman and kicker Chandler Catanzaro. Four of the five were starters for the ACC Champion Tigers in 2011 and four of the five are from the state of South Carolina.

Only Duke had more selections than Clemson. It marked the fifth consecutive year that Clemson had at least five players selected to the ACC All-Academic team.

Freeman was named to the team for the third straight year and he will have a chance to be a four-time selection in 2012. The native of Pelion, SC graduated this past December and will play his final year as a graduate student. He was named first-team All-ACC on the field as well, one of seven ACC football players who achieved that distinction this year.

Zimmerman was also named for the third consecutive year. Now a Clemson graduate, he played his final year with the Tigers in 2011 and left Clemson as the number-six punter of all-time with a 41.1 average. He was named a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior Class Award this past year as well, and recently won a Weaver-James-Corrigan Scholarship from the ACC.

Brown is a third multi-year winner from Clemson. He was named to the Academic All-ACC team for the second straight year. He also graduated in December and will play his final year as a graduate student. On the field he was Clemson’s fourth leading receiver in 2011 with 31 receptions for 406 yards and four touchdowns.

Brandon Ford and Chandler Catanzaro are two first-time selections to the Academic All-ACC team. Ford had 14 catches for 166 yards and two scores this year in helping Clemson to the ACC Championship. Catanzaro was the top scorer on the Clemson team with 118 yards in 14 games, including 22 field goals. His 118 points set a Clemson record for kick scoring in a season.