Charlotte, NC – The Atlantic Coast Conference Football Players of the Week have been recognized following their standout performances in Week 5 of the 2024 college football season. The selections are determined by a vote of a select media panel. The following are this week’s honorees:
QUARTERBACK – Cam Ward, Miami, QB, West Columbia, Texas
Ward continued his historic start, throwing for 342 yards and four touchdowns to guide the Hurricanes to a 38-34 comeback win over Virginia Tech. Ward also ran for 57 yards and a score, leading Miami to touchdowns on its final three drives of the game. Since the Hurricanes joined the ACC prior to the 2004 season, the 6-foot-2, 223-pound signal-caller is the league’s first student-athlete with at least 300 passing yards and three passing touchdowns in each of their first five games of a season.
RUNNING BACK – Star Thomas, Duke, RB, Homer, Louisiana
Thomas ran for 166 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries, while also catching two passes for 45 yards and a touchdown in the Blue Devils’ win over North Carolina. His 166 rushing yards marked the second-highest single-game total by a Duke running back in a win over North Carolina, trailing only a 193-yard performance by Jack Alexander in 1935. The 166 rushing yards were the most by a Duke running back since Mateo Durant amassed a program-record 255 at Charlotte during the 2021 season. Thomas is just the sixth Duke running back in program history to have three or more consecutive 100-yard ground games. 122 of Thomas’ 166 rushing yards came in the second half, propelling Duke to its second-largest come-from-behind victory in school history.
RECEIVER – Jackson Meeks, Syracuse, WR, Phenix City, Alabama
Meeks set new career highs with 10 catches and 161 yards while also notching a touchdown in Syracuse’s win over Holy Cross. Meeks hauled in his 10 catches on just 13 targets. The 161 receiving yards is the third-highest single-game total in the ACC this season and are the most yards by a Syracuse player since the 2018 season opener when Jamal Custis logged 168 yards versus Western Michigan. All of Meeks’ catches came in the first three quarters of action before sitting the majority of the fourth quarter.
DEFENSIVE LINEMAN – Donovan Ezeiruaku, Boston College, DE, Williamstown, New Jersey
Ezeiruaku posted career-highs in tackles (14), sacks (3) and tackles for loss (4) as he dominated on defense in Boston College’s comeback win over Western Kentucky. His third sack of the day was a strip-sack that set up the Eagles inside the Hilltopper 30-yard line and led to Boston College’s go-ahead touchdown with 3:33 left in the game. The Eagles came back from its largest fourth-quarter deficit (13) in a win in program history. Ezeiruaku and the BC defense stopped Western Kentucky on all three of its fourth-quarter drives. He totaled four tackles and two sacks, including the forced fumble, in the fourth quarter alone. The three-sack effort was the first of Ezeiruaku’s career and the first for an Eagle since 2018. Through five weeks, he leads the nation in total sacks (8), solo sacks (8) and sacks per game (1.6).
LINEBACKER – Kobe Wilson, SMU, LB, Snellville, Georgia
Wilson recorded a co-team-high seven tackles in SMU’s first-ever ACC win – a 42-16 showing against Florida State. The graduate linebacker picked off a pass and ran it back 82 yards for a touchdown, tying the ninth-longest interception return in school history. Wilson also records two quarterback hurries in the win.
DEFENSIVE BACK – DK Kaufman, NC State, S, New Orleans, Louisiana
Kaufman scored his second touchdown of the season in NC State’s 24-17 win over Northern Illinois. He recorded a strip sack of the Huskies’ quarterback before scooping up the loose ball and returning it for a touchdown. Kaufman notched four total tackles and a pass breakup in addition to the sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery. He led a NC State defense that held the Huskies to just 63 yards on the ground despite averaging 222 rushing yards entering the contest.
SPECIALIST – John Love, Virginia Tech, K, Spartanburg, South Carolina
Love connected on a 57-yard field goal in the second quarter against Miami and then nailed a 52-yard field goal in the third quarter, becoming the first Virginia Tech kicker to make two or more field goals from 51 yards or longer during the same game since 1972. The 57-yarder was a career-long and the third-longest field goal in school history. Love also made all four of his extra points against the Hurricanes.
ROOKIE – Micah Ford, Stanford, RB, Toms River, New Jersey
Ford finished Stanford’s game at Clemson with career-highs in both carries (15) and rushing yards (122). He became Stanford’s first freshman running back to eclipse 100 yards on the ground since Kenneth Tolon on November 24, 2001, against Notre Dame. His 124 total yards from scrimmage are the most by a Stanford freshman running back since Bryce Love logged 143 against UCF on September 12, 2015.