Harper named ACC preseason player of the year

By PAUL STRELOW - pstrelow@thestate.com

CLEMSON - As expected, Clemson quarterback Cullen Harper was named the ACC’s preseason Player of the Year today.

But proof for just how high expectations are for the team was evidenced by the Tigers’ trifecta.

Harper and Clemson’s pair of stellar running backs, senior James Davis and junior C.J. Spiller, went 1-2-3 in the player of the year voting.

It is unclear whether teammates have ever even gone 1-2 in the voting. ACC associate commissioner Mike Finn said last week the league has only found its records for the last three preseason player-of-the-year votes.

Harper collected 34 of 64 first-place votes, with Davis a distant second at 16. Spiller tallied four, and four players - Wake Forest tailback Josh Adams, Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner, Florida State quarterback Drew Weatherford and Virginia Tech quarterback Sean Glennon - had two apiece.

Four Tigers made the preseason all-conference team: Harper, Davis, senior receiver Aaron Kelly and senior safety Michael Hamlin.

A Clemson player has not actually won the ACC’s Player of the Year honor since defensive lineman Michael Dean Perry had 10 sacks in 1987. It has been 29 years and counting since the Tigers last had the top offensive player, dating to quarterback Steve Fuller’s consecutive award-winning seasons in 1977 and ’78.

For more, read Thursday’s edition of The State.