Shawne Merriman, Steve Suter Earn ACC Player Of Week Honors
11/4/2002 7:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 4, 2002
GREENSBORO, N.C. -
A pair of Maryland Terrapins who played key roles in the Terps' ACC victory at North Carolina last Saturday have been named ACC Players of the Week, the league office announced Monday.
Freshman linebacker Shawne Merriman, who established career highs for solo tackles (7), total tackles (8) and sacks (3), was named the Rookie of the Week. Sophomore specialist Steve Suter, who tied an NCAA I-A record with his fourth punt return for a TD this season, was named the Specialist of the Week.
A look at the honorees from this past weekend:
SPECIALIST
Maryland's Steve Suter, a sophomore punt returner from Manchester, Md., tied the NCAA single-season record with his fourth punt return for a
touchdown this season as the Terps beat North Carolina 59-7. Suter returned four punts for 92 yards and established a new ACC record for single-season
punt return yardage with 574 yards.
ROOKIE
Maryland's Shawne Merriman, a freshman linebacker, had eight tackles, including seven solos and three quarterback sacks in the Terps' 59-7 win over
North Carolina. The Marlboro, Md., native also had two passes broken up and forced a fumble.
OFFENSIVE BACK
Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst completed 34 of 52 passes for 420 yards and four touchdowns in Clemson's 34-31 win over Duke. In his first
career start, the Duluth, Ga., freshman set all-time school single game records for completions and yards and tied the school record for touchdown passes. His
414 yards of total offense was fourth best in school history.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Florida State's Todd Williams, a senior offensive guard from Bradenton, FL, led all FSU linemen with a final grade of 95 percent in the Seminoles' 34-21 win
over Wake Forest. The offensive line did not give up a sack of QB Adrian McPherson for the first time since Duke on Sept. 1, 2001. They were also not called
for any penalties and Williams led the team with 10 intimidation (pancake) blocks. He also had a pair of "key blocks" on both of Nick Maddox's rushing
touchdowns. FSU offense totaled 533 yards on the day (255 rushing, 278 passing).
DEFENSIVE LINE
NC State's Dantonio Burnette, a senior inside linebacker from Warner Robbins, Ga., had 18 tackles for the Wolfpack in Saturday's 24-17 loss to Georgia
Tech. Burnette also intercepted a pass at the Georgia Tech 46-yard line late in the fourth quarter with the Pack down seven points. Twice in the game,
Georgia Tech had first-and-goal from the NC State 2-yard line, and was forced to kick a field goal each time. Burnette was in on three of the six tackles in those
two goal-line stands.
DEFENSIVE BACK
For the second straight week, Georgia Tech free safety Jeremy Muyres made a game-saving interception to preserve a Yellow Jacket victory. In Tech's 24-17
road win over eighth-ranked NC State, Muyres also had six tackles. The senior from Stone Mountain, Ga., keyed an outstanding performance by the Tech
defense which held a Wolfpack offense that was averaging 40.9 points per game to just 17 points.
