After an eight win regular season that opened up some eyes, eight Pitt football players were recognized Monday by the ACC when their season awards were handed out.
Junior wide receiver Tyler Boyd and senior defensive end Ejuan Price both landed on the All-ACC first team.
Boyd, who became the Panthers all-time leading receiver during the season, led the ACC in receptions per game (7.7 avg.) and receiving yards per game (79.4 avg.). It’s the third consecutive season Boyd has earned All-ACC honors and the second consecutive season he was a first-team selection.
The 2015 season was a particularly sweet one for Price, who has battled injuries his entire Panthers career. Finally back on the field for a full season, the Woodland Hills graduate was a force to be reckoned with. Price finished fifth in the nation and first in the ACC, averaging 0.96 quarterback sacks per game. His 11.5 total sacks were the most by a Pitt player since 2000.
Landing on the All-ACC second team were junior offensive tackle Adam Bisnowaty, junior offensive guard Dorian Johnson and redshirt freshman running back Qadree Ollison.
Bisnowaty and Johnson, both former WPIAL players, formed the left side of the Pitt offensive line that once again produced a 1,000-yard rusher.
That rusher was Ollison who wasn’t even on the radar when the season began. But after an injury in the opener to James Conner, Ollison seized the opportunity and finished the season with 1,048 yards and 10 touchdowns on 204 carries (5.1 avg.). In the process he became only the fifth freshmen running back in Pitt history to eclipse the 1,000-yard plateau in a season.
Third-team selections in senior defensive tackle Darryl Render and freshman strong safety Jordan Whitehead. Sophomore cornerback Avonte Maddox was named an Honorable Mention.
Render, a four-year starter, had only 16 tackles on the season, but played much bigger than that, eating up blockers along the Pitt defensive line.
The freshman Whitehead has future star written all over him after a season in which he leading the Panthers with 99 tackles. His average of 8.2 tackles per game ranks eighth in the ACC and he is the only freshman among the league’s top 10 tacklers.
Maddox finished the season fourth in the ACC with 1.3 passes defended per game.
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