Christian Capote Named ACC Football Player of the Week

Sept. 25, 2007

Clemson senior Christian Capote was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week as announced by the league office on Monday, September 24. Against NC State on Saturday, the Miami, FL native led all offensive linemen with a 91 percent film grade. In the Tigers’ 42-20 win, he registered a career-high 11 knockdown blocks as the Clemson offense totaled 340 yards rushing and 608 overall. Behind the Clemson offensive line, two Tiger running backs were able to surpass the 100-yard mark and the team was able to average 6.8 yards per rush.

Other ACC Football Players of the Week:

OFFENSIVE BACK-Eron Riley, Duke, Wide Receiver, 6-3, 200, Junior, Savannah, Ga.In Saturday’s game at Navy, Riley caught six passes for 235 yards and four touchdowns. The junior wide receiver caught scoring passes of 76, 35, nine and 69 yards to lead a Blue Devil offense that piled up 506 total yards and scored 43 points. With the four touchdowns, Riley tied a 10-year old Duke single-game record. His receiving total was the fifth-highest single-game mark in school history and is the 12th best mark in ACC history. Riley currently leads the ACC in receiving yards per game (92.5), touchdown receptions (4) and yards per catch (23.1).

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN-Jeffrey Fitzgerald, Virginia, Def. End, 6-3, 279, Sophomore, Richmond, Va.In the Cavaliers’ 28-23 home win against Georgia Tech on Saturday, Fitzgerald scored a touchdown for the Virginia defense when he picked off a deflected pass and returned it 25-yards into the Georgia Tech end zone. For the day, he collected five tackles, including 2.5 for loss and a sack. He also added a forced fumble, leading a strong effort by the Cavalier defense.

DEFENSIVE BACK-Alphonso Smith, Wake Forest, Cornerback, 5-9, 191, Junior, Pahokee, Fl.With 1:10 remaining in the third quarter and his team down 24-3, Smith picked off a pass in his own end zone and raced 100-yards for the score. The Demon Deacons would go on to post two more straight touchdowns to force overtime, where they would eventually prevail 31-24. For the day, Smith posted six total tackles, including four solo ones.

SPECIALIST-Darrell Blackman, NC State, Wide Receiver, 5-10, 205, Senior, Williamsport, Pa.In the Wolfpack’s home game against the Clemson Tigers on Saturday, Blackman had 200 yards of all-purpose yardage. After Clemson scored on its opening drive, he took the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for NC State’s first score of the day. The 99-yard return was the longest in school history, besting the previous high of 98 that had stood since 1946. Blackman also added returns of 11 and 33 yards, giving him 143 on kickoff returns for the day, good for the ninth largest single-game kickoff return total in Wolfpack history.

ROOKIE-Josh Adams, Wake Forest, Running Back, 6-0, 180, Freshman, Cary, N.C.Adams, a redshirt freshman from nearby Cary, N.C., carried the ball a career-high 20 times for 91 yards in Wake Forest’s comeback victory over Maryland on Saturday. In overtime, Adams led the Demon Deacons with carries of 4 yards, 15 yards and then a six-yarder for the winning touchdown. Adams currently ranks 10th in the ACC in rushing yards with an average of 62.0 per game.