The Atlantic Coast Conference announced today that Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been named the 2020 ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year. In addition, the conference announced that defensive lineman Bryan Bresee has been selected as the 2020 ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
Lawrence’s selection as Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year snaps a two-year streak for both award held by his teammate Travis Etienne. With Lawrence’s 2020 selection joining Etienne’s awards in 2018 and 2019, Clemson becomes the first school since the conference’s inception in 1953 to produce three consecutive ACC Player of the Year selections.
Bresee becomes only the second Clemson player to earn ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors since the honor was first awarded in 2007, joining fellow defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence’s selection in 2016. Clemson joins Florida State, Miami and Virginia as the only schools with multiple ACC Defensive Rookies of the Year in the honor’s 14-year history.
Full releases from the Atlantic Coast Conference are included below.
GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Clemson junior quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been voted the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year after leading the Tigers to their sixth consecutive league title and sixth straight College Football Playoff selection.
Notre Dame senior linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah earned ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors after keying the Fighting Irish to an unbeaten regular season and a CFP berth.
The ACC’s 2020 season award winners were chosen by a vote of a select 49-member media panel and the league’s 15 head coaches.
Named the MVP of the ACC Football Championship Game following Clemson’s 34-10 win over Notre Dame last Saturday, Lawrence has thrown for 2,753 yards and 22 touchdowns in nine games. He leads the ACC in total offense (329.3 yards per game), passing yards per game (305.9) and pass completion percentage (.692).
Also recognized as the 2020 ACC Offensive Player of the Year, Lawrence has rushed for an additional seven touchdowns this season, including a 34-yard run for a score in the ACC Championship Game. With a 34-1 career mark, the Cartersville, Georgia, native stands as the winningest starting quarterback in Clemson history and owns the best record by an FBS starting quarterback since Division I split in 1978.
The only starting quarterback to win three ACC Football Championship Games, Lawrence enters the CFP as the third-leading passer in Clemson history (9,698 yards) and ranks fourth all-time among ACC players with 88 career touchdown passes.
Clemson becomes the first school to claim three consecutive overall ACC Player of the Year honors with Lawrence’s selection, following those of Tiger teammate Travis Etienne in both 2018 and 2019. Clemson has claimed 12 total overall ACC Player of the Year awards, including four of the last six.
The ACC Defensive Player of the Year recognition is the second major honor of the week for Owusu-Koramoah, who on Monday became the second consecutive ACC linebacker to be named winner of the Butkus Award.
Owusu-Koramoah has registered 56 tackles in 11 games, tying for the team lead on a unit that ranks second in the ACC in yards allowed (335.5 per game) and scoring defense (18.6 ppg).
A native of Hampton, Virginia, Owusu-Koramoah has made 11 tackles for loss, including 1.5 quarterback sacks. He has forced three fumbles, recovered two (returning one for a touchdown) and has one interception this season.
Owusu-Koramoah’s efforts have helped Notre Dame rank third among ACC teams in rushing yards allowed per game (110.9) and passing yards allowed (224.5).
ACC Player of the Year voting:
ACC Offensive Player of the YearTrevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson, 45Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson, 7Ian Book, QB, Notre Dame, 5Javonte Williams, RB, North Carolina, 3Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina, 3D’Eriq King, QB, Miami, 1
ACC Defensive Player of the YearJeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB, Notre Dame, 29Jaelan Phillips, DE, Miami, 8Rashad Weaver, DE, Pitt, 7Patrick Jones II, DE, Pitt, 6Payton Wilson, LB, NC State, 6Chazz Surratt, LB, North Carolina, 5Nolan Turner, S, Clemson, 1Max Richardson, LB, Boston College, 1Carlos Basham Jr., DE, Wake Forest, 1
ACC Player of the YearTrevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson, 44Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson, 7Ian Book, QB, Notre Dame, 5Javonte Williams, RB, North Carolina, 3Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina, 3Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB, Notre Dame, 1D’Eriq King, Miami, 1
GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams has been voted the 2020 Atlantic Coast Conference Football Rookie of the Year by the league’s 15 head coaches and a 49-member select media panel.
Clemson tackle Bryan Bresee received the nod as the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year.
A five-time weekly award winner in 2020, Williams has totaled six 100-yard rushing performances while helping the No. 4 Fighting Irish to a 10-1 record and a berth in the College Football Playoff. The St. Louis native leads all FBS freshmen in rushing yards (1,061), rushing touchdowns (12) and total touchdowns (13). He also has 27 receptions on the season for 282 yards.
A second-team All-ACC selection, Williams’ efforts are a huge reason Notre Dame (10-1) will compete in the CFP for the second time in three seasons. The redshirt freshman is one of just four ACC players to eclipse the 1,000-yard rushing mark, and his 27 receptions rank third among Notre Dame players.
Clemson’s Bresee earned first-team All-ACC honors after helping the Tigers (10-1) to their sixth consecutive ACC Football Championship and a No. 2 CFP seed.
One of the leading pass rushers on a Clemson squad that ranks second in the nation with 44 quarterback sacks, Bresee has dropped opposing quarterbacks three times. He has recorded one safety while breaking up two passes and forcing one fumble. The Damascus, Maryland, native’s blocked field goal in the season opener versus Wake Forest was the Tigers’ first since the 2018 season.
Bresee and the Clemson defense rank ninth nationally in rushing defense (99.8 yards per game) and sixth in total defense (298.5 ypg).
The complete voting for ACC Rookie of the Year honors was as follows:
ACC Offensive Rookie of the YearKyren Williams, RB, Notre Dame, 42Jordan Addison, WR, Pitt, 15Jahmyr Gibbs, WR/KR, Georgia Tech, 4Lavel Davis, Jr., WR, Virginia, 1Donavon Greene, WR/KR, Wake Forest, 1Sean Tucker, RB, Syracuse, 1
ACC Defensive Rookie of the YearBryan Bresee, DT, Clemson, 36Myles Murphy, DE, Clemson, 18Garrett Williams, DB, Syracuse, 6Nick Andersen, S, Wake Forest, 2Tony Grimes, DB, North Carolina, 1Isaiah Foskey, DE, Notre Dame, 1
ACC Rookie of the YearKyren Williams, RB, Notre Dame, 37Jordan Addison, WR, Pitt, 10Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson, 7Myles Murphy, DE, Clemson, 6Jahmyr Gibbs, WR/KR Georgia Tech, 3Lavel Davis, Jr., WR, Virginia, 1
