Two NC State players earned ACC Player of the Week honors for the week ending Oct. 9.
Quarterback Ryan Finley won Offensive Back of the Week after passing 20-of-31 against Louisville for 367 yards. Finley’s 48-yard touchdown to Kelvin Harmon opened the scoring. He added a 79-yard non-scoring pass to Jaylen Samuels later in the game. Finley extended his interception-free streak to 288 passes, second-longest in ACC history.
Finley is the first NC State player to win Offensive Back of the Week since Jacoby Brissett won it on Dec. 1, 2014.
Tackle Will Richardson was named Offensive Lineman of the Week after helping the Pack rack up 520 yards of offense against Louisville. He’s the second Wolfpack lineman honored this year, joining guard Tony Adams, who won it for the opening weekend of the season.
It’s the first time two Wolfpack players have been honored in the same week since Nov. 23, 2015, when Joe Thuney (Offensive Lineman of the Week) and Nyheim Hines (Rookie of the Week) won awards. The 2015 season was also the last time State won two Offensive Lineman of the Week awards (both by Thuney). State hasn’t had two different linemen honored in the same season since at least 2005.
Duke linebacker Joe Giles-Harris won Linebacker of the Week after getting 15 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack in a loss to Virginia. It’s his second career weekly honor—he won it Nov. 14 of last season.
The state of North Carolina had another representative in the ACC weekly awards. Raleigh’s Braxton Berrios, a senior at Miami and Leesville Road High product, won Receiver of the Week after getting eight catches, 90 yards and two touchdowns in a win at Florida State.
The other weekly award winners were Boston College’s Zach Allen, who won Defensive Lineman of the Week, Virginia safety Quin Blanding, who won Defensive Back of the Week, Pitt kicker Alex Kessman, who won Specialist of the Week, and Virginia Tech receiver Sean Savoy, who won Rookie of the Week.
