Clemson sweeps ACC Player of the Year awards as Travis Etienne, Clelin Ferrell honored

A day after Dabo Swinney and Trevor Lawrence were honored by the ACC, two more Tigers received the league’s highest awards.

Clemson running back Travis Etienne was named the ACC Player of the Year on Wednesday, while defensive end Clelin Ferrell was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

The news was announced after Lawrence was named the ACC Freshman of the Year and Swinney was named the ACC Coach of the Year on Tuesday.

Etienne received 22 ACC Player of the Year award votes, while Clemson defensive tackle Christian Wilkins was second with 14. N.C. State quarterback Ryan Finley was third with eight votes.

Etienne has rushed for 1,307 yards and a school record 19 touchdowns thus far in 2018. He is ranked No. 10 nationally in rushing yards and is No. 4 in yards per carry at 8.0.

Ferrell received 28 ACC Defensive Player of the Year votes, while Wilkins was second with 20. No other player had more than five.

Ferrell leads the Tigers in tackles for loss with 15.5 and sacks with 10.5. He has 40 tackles on the season and 11 quarterback pressures.

Clemson will face Pitt in the ACC championship game on Saturday at 8 p.m. in Charlotte. With a victory the Tigers will advance to the College Football Playoff for the fourth consecutive season.

This story was originally published November 28, 2018 at 1:15 PM.