The ACC announced the 2015 All-ACC Academic honors last night and the Wolfpack had three players make that list, outnumbering Chapel Hill’s mere two players. Granted Duke had 13 players make the cut, but let’s be honest, Duke really likes schoolwork. Virginia placed second after Duke with six selections and Pitt followed in third with five.
Representing the Wolfpack, we have Joe Thuney, a first team All-American who was also a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation and the Hall of Fame’s William V. Campbell Trophy, which is given to the nation’s top student athlete. Thuney didn’t allow a single sack in ACC play last season and this is his second mention.
Linebacker Airius Moore and cornerback Justin Burris also made the list alongside Thuney. Moore led the Pack in tackles in the 2015 season with a total of 77 stops while pursuing a degree in social work. Burris was a starting cornerback for NC State before he finished his BA in Business Administration in December 2014.
It’s not easy making the selections. To be eligible, student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA for the previous semester and also have maintained a 3.00 cumulative GPA during his academic career. A graduate student-athlete must have a 3.5 GPA.
