Led by first-team linebacker Micah Kiser and first-team safety Quin Blanding, seven University of Virginia football players earned 2017 postseason All-ACC honors .
Kiser and Blanding led the conference in tackles per game, averaging 11.2 and 10.1 per contest, respectively. Blanding, a 4-time All-ACC selection, became UVA’s all-time leader in career tackles earlier this season. Kiser, who like Blanding has made first-team All-ACC honors three years in a row, leads all ACC players and is no. 3 in the nation with 134 tackles. The Cavaliers’ dynamic duo were the leading All-ACC vote-getters at linebacker and in the secondary.
Virginia’s five other All-ACC performers are all expected back next season. They include …
– Olamide Zaccheaus (JR), Wide Receiver, 2nd Team
– Lester Coleman (JR), Punter, 2nd Team
– Juan Thornhill (JR), Cornerback, 3rd Team
– Joe Reed (SOPH), Special Teams, Honorable Mention
– Chris Peace (JR), Linebacker, Honorable Mention
Zaccheaus led Virginia in receptions (80) and receiving yards (833), and was second on the team in all-purpose yards with 1,071. Only Reed outgained Zaccheaus in the all-purpose category, accounting for 743 kick-return yards, 232 receiving yards, and 101 rushing yards.
Taking over for 2016 first-team All-ACC performer Nicholas Conte, Coleman responded by earning a scholarship last summer before averaging 44 yards per punt this season. Twenty-eight of the Martinsville (VA) native’s punts ended up inside the opponent’s 20.
Thornhill, in his second season as a starting cornerback, led the Cavaliers with 12 pass breakups and had four interceptions. The physical corner has tallied 53 tackles, 19 of which were solo. Thornhill began the year as Virginia’s starting strong safety but moved back to cornerback when Tim Harris went down with a season-ending injury in the season-opener versus William & Mary.
Click here to read the entire All-ACC list.
