North Carolina’s ACC teams swept half of the ACC Player of the Week Awards for the second week of the regular season.
North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest combined for four of the eight awards, and the games that local teams played were responsible for six of the eight honors.
Only NC State, who defeated Marshall in week two, was shut out of the weekly awards balloting, after winning an Offensive Lineman of the Week honor in week one.
Duke, who pummeled Northwestern 41-17, saw right tackle Evan Lisle win Offensive Lineman of the Week. The graduate transfer from Ohio State helped open holes for a Duke rushing attack that amassed 233 yards and three touchdowns.
Lisle is the sixth Duke offensive lineman to win the award since 2010 and first since Matt Skura was named co-winner of the weekly honor on Oct. 20, 2014. He’s the first Duke lineman to win it outright since Takoby Cofield, on Sept. 22 of that same year.
Wake Forest won at Boston College, 34-10, and sophomore cornerback Essang Bassey had an interception return for a touchdown to help seal the victory. The performance earned Bassey the Defensive Back of the Week Award. He’s the first Deacon to win the award since Cameron Glenn on Nov. 7 of last season.
Despite losing to Louisville, 47-35, North Carolina had a pair of players recognized in the ACC weekly awards.
Sophomore Anthony Ratliff-Williams was named Specialist of the Week after setting a school single-game record with 199 kickoff yards, including a 94-yard touchdown. Ratliff-Williams broke Marcus Wall’s UNC mark, which had stood for 23 years. A Tar Heel has won this award 14 times in the last 10 years, including each of the last three seasons, most recently kicker Nick Weiler, on Oct. 3 of last year.
Quarterback Chazz Surratt, who passed for 168 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start, was named Rookie of the Week. He’s the first Tar Heel to win that award outright since T.J. Logan, on Nov. 25, 2013. (Offensive lineman Tommy Hatton was named co-winner of the award once last year). Surratt is the first UNC quarterback to win the award since T.J. Yates, on Sept. 17, 2007.
UNC also helped two players from the victorious Louisville Cardinals win weekly honors. Quarterback Lamar Jackson, whose 525 yards of total offense were the most ever against the Tar Heels, was named ACC Back of the Week. Wide receiver Jaylen Smith, who had 183 yards, was named Receiver of the Week.
Carolina became the second team in as many weeks to have two ACC Player of the Week winners in a losing effort. Florida State saw defensive lineman Josh Sweat and defensive back Derwin James honored last week after losing to Alabama. Prior to that, a losing team hadn’t had two winners since Pitt’s Jordan Whitehead (Rookie) and Ejuan Price (Defensive Line) on Nov. 9, 2015, after losing to Notre Dame.
Clemson’s Austin Bryant (defensive line) and Dorian O’Daniel (Linebacker) were the other two award winners this week.
