Duke football leads ACC in the classroom

Although Duke finished 3-9 on the football field last season, the Blue Devils were No. 1 in the ACC in the classroom by a wide margin, according to the All-ACC Academic awards announced this morning.

Duke led the conference with 13 All-ACC Academic selections. Clemson was next with six, and Virginia Tech had five.

To be eligible, athletes needed to have at least a 3.00 grade-point average for the past semester and to have maintained at least a 3.00 GPA throughout their college career.

North Carolina had four All-ACC Academic selections - fullback Curtis Byrd, offensive tackle James Hurst, tight end Zack Pianalto and offensive tackle Michael Ingersoll. N.C. State had one selection - quarterback Russell Wilson.

Duke's 13 selections were: linebacker Kelby Brown, cornerback Lee Butler, cornerback Russ Cockrell, defensive back Matt Daniels, offensive guard Dave Harding, tight end Cooper Helfet, offensive tackle Kyle Hill, offensive guard Brian Moore, quarterback Sean Renfree, cornerback Chris Rwabukamba, kicker Will Snyderwine, offensive tackle Perry Simmons and wide receiver Donovan Varner.

Wake Forest's three selections were offensive guard Michael Hoag, punter Shane Popham and offensive tackle Doug Weaver.

Boston College offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo and Maryland kicker/punter Travis Baltz became the 12th and 13th four-time All-ACC Academic selections in the 57-year history of the award.

Boston College, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Maryland each had four selections, Miami had three, and Virginia had one.