By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

We’re going to take a look at some of the best ACC players of all time.

I want at least one player to represent each team. Some of them may have played in a different conference before their respective school joined the conference. This will also be part one because there are 17 schools and I can’t fit them all in one article.

Boston College: Doug Flutie (1981-84) won the Heisman Trophy and was a Unanimous All-American in 1984.

He led the Eagles to a 10-2 that season and they finished ranked #4 in the Coaches Poll. That also features one of the most famous game winning Hail Mary’s at #12 Miami.

In his career he passed for 10,579 yards and 67 touchdowns. He also rushed for 739 yards and 7 scores.

Cal: Marshawn Lynch (2004-06) was the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year and a First-team All-American in 2006. In 2005 he rushed for 1,246 yards and 10 TD’s.

In 2006 he rushed for 1,356 yards and 11 touchdowns. For his career he averaged 6.6 ypc. He also caught 68 passes for 600 yards and 6 scores.

Clemson: Deshaun Watson (2014-16) was a 2x Davey O’Brien Award winner, 2x Manning Award (2015-16), Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (2016), ACC Player of the Year (2015), 2x ACC Athlete of the Year (2015-16) and First-team All-ACC (2015).

In 2016, he led the Tigers to a National Championship win over #1 Alabama. He was named the CFP National Championship Offensive MVP.

In his career he passed for 10,163 yards and 90 touchdowns. He also rushed for 1,934 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Duke: Clarkston Hines (1986-89) is the only player in ACC history to lead the league in receiving yards three consecutive seasons. He had over a thousand yards and double-digit touchdowns in his final 3 seasons. As a Blue Devil he caught 189 passes for 3,318 yards and 38 scores.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010. Hines was a Unanimous All-American (1989), First-team All-American (1988), ACC Male Athlete of the year (1990), ACC Player of the Year (1989) and 3x First team All-ACC (1987-89).

Florida State: The Seminoles have several players that could be considered the best in program history. I’m going to go with Peter Warrick (1995-99).

He helped lead the 1999 Seminoles to an undefeated season and the national championship. He played in 9 games that year because he was suspended for 2 games. He still had 71 catches, 934 yards and 8 TD’s. He also rushed for 96 yards and 3 touchdowns.

He won the Paul Warfield Trophy (1999), Unanimous All-American (1999), Consensus All-American (1998) and 2x First-team All-ACC (1998-99). In his career he had 207 receptions for 3,517 yards and 32 touchdowns.

Georgia Tech: Joe Hamilton (1996-99) was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014. He won the Davey O’Brien Award (1999), NCAA Quarterback of the Year (1999), ACC Player of the Year (1999), Consensus All-American (1999), ACC Offensive Player of the Year (1999), 2x First team All-ACC (1998-99) and 2x Gator Bowl MVP (1999-00). He also finished second in 1999 for the Heisman Trophy.

Hamilton passed for 8,862 and 65 scores. He also rushed for 1,758 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Louisville: Lamar Jackson (2015-17) won the Heisman Trophy in 2016. He was a Unanimous All-American (2016), ACC Athlete of the Year (2018), 2x ACC Player of the Year (2016-17) and 2x ACC Offensive Player of the Year (2016-17).

Jackson had 9,043 passing yards and 69 TD’s. He rushed for 4,132 yards and 50 touchdowns.