North Carolina Athletics

Football

ACC Football Players of the Week for Week 7

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference announced its Football Players of the Week following standout performances in Week 7. The honorees were selected by a vote of a select media panel.


CO-QUARTERBACK – Ashton Daniels, 5th, QB, Florida State (Buford, Georgia)
  • Accounted for all five of Florida State’s touchdowns versus No. 3 Miami in the double-overtime contest.
  • Completed 15-of-28 passes for 298 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, while adding 31 rushing yards and a rushing score.
  • His five total touchdowns and four passing touchdowns both tied a career high.
  • His four passing touchdowns matched Florida State’s single-game high this season and came against a Miami defense that had allowed just three passing touchdowns in total over its first five games of the season.
  • With 11 rushing touchdowns this season, he is tied with Dalvin Cook (2015) and Antone Smith (2008) for the most by a Seminole through the first seven games of a season over the past 30 years.
  • Marks his second ACC Quarterback of the Week honor of the season.
 
CO-QUARTERBACK – Gio Lopez, Sr., QB, Wake Forest (Madison, Alabama)
  • Led Wake Forest to a 41-7 victory at California on Saturday night, completing 16-of-23 attempts for 267 yards and four touchdowns while also rushing for 51 yards. 
  • He was one of only two quarterbacks nationally with 250-plus passing yards, four touchdown passes and no interceptions in Week 7.
  • Opened the night by leading a 99-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 39-yard touchdown connection with freshman tight end Dominick Barry.
  • He has totaled 13 touchdowns (9 passing, 4 rushing) over the last three weeks – most by a Power 4 quarterback during that span 
  • He has totaled 23 touchdowns compared to just one turnover on the season.
  • Marks his third ACC Quarterback of the Week honor of the season and the second in the last two weeks.
 
RUNNING BACK – Micah Ford, Jr., RB, Stanford (Toms River, New Jersey)
  • Rushed the ball 19 times for 179 yards and four touchdowns in the home win over Elon.
  • Recorded four rushing touchdowns in Stanford’s final non-conference game, tying the Stanford single-game record, done most recently by Christian McCaffrey in 2015.
  • His four touchdowns marked the second game this season that he has scored at least three touchdowns in a game, matching Brennan Scarlett and Bryce Love who both did so in 2017.
  • Ran for an 81-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, which is tied for the 12th-longest touchdown run in Stanford history.
  • Also caught five passes, tying a career high in the win.
  • His 231 yards of total offense is the most by a Cardinal since Elic Ayomanor’s 294 in 2023, and the most by a Stanford running back since Bryce Love’s 301 in 2017.
  • His eight rushing touchdowns on the season are a new career high and the most by a Stanford running back since Austin Jones in 2020 (9).
  • He is also tied for the most rushing touchdowns by an ACC running back this season.
  • Marks his second ACC Running Back of the Week honor of the season.
 
OFFENSIVE RECEIVER – Umari Hatcher, 6th, WR, Syracuse (Woodbridge, Virginia)
  • Totaled 13 catches for 224 yards and a touchdown in the home contest versus Louisville.
  • Posted the fifth-most receiving yards in a single game in program history and the fourth-most in the FBS this season with his 224 yards.
  • Also recorded the third-most receptions in a game in the FBS this season with 13.
  • It marked his third straight game with over 125 receiving yards and a touchdown.
  • In the last three games, he has recorded 33 catches for 502 yards and five touchdowns. 
  • Marks his second ACC Offensive Receiver of the Week honor of the season, both coming in the last three weeks.
 
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN – Clinton Richard, Jr., OL, Wake Forest (Hiram, Georgia)
  • Helped power Wake Forest’s offense to more than 500 yards of offense and seven touchdowns in a 41-7 victory over Cal on Saturday evening. 
  • Protected quarterback Gio Lopez to the tune of four touchdown passes while holding the Golden Bears without a sack in the road conference win. 
  • Additionally, created space for Wake Forest to rush for 220 yards and a pair of touchdowns versus the Golden Bears.
  • The 220 rushing yards were the fourth-most by an ACC team on the week. 
  • Earned a team-high 87.7 pass-blocking grade according to Pro Football Focus (PFF) and posted the highest pass-blocking grade among ACC offensive linemen.
 
DEFENSIVE LINEMAN – Tyler Thompson, Sr., DL, Louisville (Cary, North Carolina)
  • Recorded five tackles, including four solo stops, in the win over Syracuse.
  • Finished the game with 3.0 tackles-for-loss, including 2.0 sacks.
  • Was a key part of a Louisville defense that totaled 5.0 sacks and 11.0 tackles-for-loss.
  • Held Syracuse’s offense to just three points after halftime.
 
LINEBACKER – Peyton Seelmann, Jr., LB, North Carolina (Mechanicsville, Virginia)
  • Recorded a game-high 16 tackles to lead the Tar Heels’ defense in a win at Duke.
  • Totaled seven solo tackles and nine assisted tackles, while adding 0.5 tackles-for-loss, a half-sack for seven yards and a quarterback hurry.
  • His 16 tackles are the most by a North Carolina player since November 25, 2023, when Cedric Gray tallied 17 tackles.
  • 13 of his 16 tackles came in the second half, including seven in the fourth quarter.
  • His pass rush late in the fourth quarter resulted in an intentional grounding call, crediting him with a half sack and tackle-for-loss.
  • His 16 tackles versus the Blue Devils are the most he has tallied against a Power Four opponent.
  • That mark was also the most by an ACC player in Week 7 and the second most by an ACC player this season.
 
DEFENSIVE BACK – Carter Davis, Sr., DB, Boston College (Baltimore, Maryland)
  • Recorded a career-high 11 tackles, including 10 solo stops, in the Eagles’ win over Pitt on Saturday.
  • His 11 tackles surpassed his previous career high of nine, set earlier this season against Maine.
  • Also added a pass breakup and a forced fumble.
  • His forced fumble in the third quarter marked his fourth career forced fumble as an Eagle.
  • Helped lead Boston College to its first ACC win of the season.
 
SPECIALIST – Nolan Hauser, Jr., PK, Clemson (Cornelius, North Carolina)
  • Went 3-for-3 on field goals and 4-for-4 on PATs in the Tigers’ win over Charleston Southern on Saturday.
  • He is 15-of-16 on field goals and 11-for-11 on PATs this season.
  • Recorded a career-long 59-yard field goal in the final minute of the first half.
  • The 59-yard field goal was the second-longest field goal in Clemson history, trailing only a 61-yarder by Spencer Benton against Ball State in 2012.
  • With the kick, he recorded his fifth career field goal of 50 or more yards to tie Donald Igwebuike (five from 1981-84) and Chris Gardocki (five from 1988-90) for the second-most in Clemson history.
  • He is now responsible for two of the five longest field goals in Clemson history.
  • His 59-yarder was the longest field goal in the ACC this season and is the third-longest in the nation this year. 
  • Became the ninth kicker in Clemson history to reach 50 career field goals.
  • With his 258 career points, he also became the ninth kicker and 13th player overall in school history to reach 250 career points.
  • Marks his third ACC Specialist of the Week honor of the season.
 
CO-ROOKIE – Dominick Barry, Fr., TE, Wake Forest (Greenwood, Indiana)
  • Had a career night against Cal in a 41-7 victory, recording four catches for 102 yards and three touchdowns. 
  • He is the first Wake Forest tight end with a 100-yard receiving performance since Cam Serigne hauled in nine passes for 112 yards against Texas A&M on December 29, 2017.
  • He is also the first Demon Deacon tight end with three receiving touchdowns in a single game since Jake Freudenthal hauled in three touchdowns against NC State on November 2, 2019.
  • Recorded a pair of 30-plus-yard touchdown catches and a 2-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.
  • He is only the second tight end in FBS this season with three or more touchdowns, joined by Houston’s Patrick Overmyer. 
 
CO-ROOKIE – Javian Mallory, Fr., RB, Miami (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
  • Played a key role in No. 3 Miami's 43-35 double-overtime win over rival Florida State, rushing for a game-high 108 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.
  • Averaged 8.3 yards per carry, which included a long run of 25 yards in the win.
  • Scored on a 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 21 before coming through again in the first overtime, breaking free for a 25-yard touchdown run to even the score at 35.
  • Marks his second ACC Rookie of the Week honor of the season.