Wilkins Heads Eight Tigers Named Academic All-ACC

Clemson, S.C—Christian Wilkins heads a record setting eight Clemson football players named to the All-ACC Academic Team on January 31. The eight players selected breaks the record of seven in one year that had been set by Dabo Swinney’s 2009 Clemson team.

Duke had the most selections to the 20017 team with 13, while Pittsburgh was second with nine. The Tigers were third with eight selections, while Syracuse and Virginia were tied for fourth with six apiece.

In addition to Wilkins, Travis Etienne, Justin Falcinelli, Sean Pollard, James Skalski, Alex Spence,  Will Spiers, and K’Von Wallace were named.

Wilkins was a first-team All-American on the field, while Falcinelli was named first-team All-ACC center. Pollard, a starting tackle, and Etienne, Clemson’s leading rusher, were both third-team All-ACC selections on the field.

Wilkins was named Academic All-ACC for the third straight year and will have a chance to join former center Dalton Freeman as the only four time Academic All-ACC selection in school history next year. Wilkins is already the first Clemson defensive lineman and just the fourth defensive player in school history to be named Academic All-ACC three time. The native of Springfield, Mass has been named first-team All-American on the field each of the last two years.

Spence has the highest career  GPA among the Clemson team members with a 3.97.

All eight Clemson players named to the Academic All-ACC team for 2017 return for the 2018 season.

Clemson Academic All-ACC Players for 2017

Travis Etienne, RB, Fr. Sports Communications, Jennings, La.; Justin Falcinelli, C, Grad, MBA, Middletown, Md.; Sean Pollard, So, OT, History, Jackson Springs, N.C.; James Skalski, LB, So, Communications, Sharpsburg, Ga., Alex Spence, PK, Jr., Financial Management;  Will Spiers, P, Fr., Parks, Recreation, Tourism Management, Cameron, S.C.; KVon Wallace, DB, So, Communications, Richmond, Va., Christian Wilkins, Jr., OT, Communications, Springfield, Mass.

Clemson Three-Time Academic All-ACC Selections

Don Kelley, 1969-71, DB-WR;   Ben Anderson, 1970-72, DB; Steve Fuller, 1976-78, QB;   Ty Granger, 1986-88, OT; Stacy Fields, 1988-90, TE; Bruce Bratton, 1989-91, OT; Chad Carson, 1999-01, LB; Kyle Young, 1999-01, C; Thomas Austin 2007-09, OL, Brandon Maye, 2008-10, LB; Dalton Freeman, 2009-12, C; Dawson Zimmerman 2009-11, P; Chandler Catanzaro, 2009-11, PK; Christian Wilkins, 2015-17, DL