Nine Eagles Earn All-ACC Football Honors

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Boston College tied a school record with nine players earning All-ACC football honors, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced Monday. True freshman running back AJ Dillon was named first team All-ACC and tied with Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson for most votes among the all-conference teams. Dillon is the first true freshman running back to be named first team All-ACC since T.A. McLendon of NC State in 2002. He is also the first BC true freshman to collect first team All-ACC accolades since linebacker Luke Kuechly in 2009.

In addition to Dillon, junior free safety Lukas Denis and junior offensive tackle Chris Lindstrom earned second team All-ACC honors, senior defensive end Harold Landry, senior linebacker Ty Schwab, junior tight end Tommy Sweeney and junior specialist Michael Walker collected third team All-ACC accolades while junior defensive end Zach Allen and junior offensive guard Sam Schmal were name All-ACC honorable mention.

Boston College also had nine players earn All-ACC honors in 2007, 2008 and 2013.

Dillon's magnificent rookie campaign was one of the best by any ACC freshman running back in conference history. The New London, Conn., native has rushed for 1,432 yards, the second-most by any freshman in ACC history. Dillon is second among all freshmen nationally in rushing and 15^th overall.

He set a new BC freshman rushing record with 1,432 yards and is tied for sixth in BC single-season history in rushing. He is just the second freshman in ACC history with two 200-yard games.

In his first year as a starter at free safety, Denis put together a strong season to earn All-ACC honors for the first time. The Everett, Mass., native is tied for the national lead with seven interceptions, which is for fourth in Boston College single-season history. Denis is tied for 11^th nationally with 16 passes defended in 2017 and ranks third on the team with 80 tackles.

Lindstrom was BC's highest-graded offensive linemen the entire season and led a productive unit that ranked second in the ACC - and tied for 12^th nationally - with just 13 sacks allowed all season. The Dudley, Mass., native was the key cog in a rushing offense that is 25^th nationally, averaging 224.2 yards per game.

Landry earned All-ACC honors for the third time in his career after an injury-riddled senior campaign. The North Carolina product played in eight games before an ankle injury forced him to miss the final four games of the regular season. Landry is tied for the team lead with five sacks and ranks second in BC career history with 26.0 sacks.

Schwab collected All-ACC honors for the first time in his career after leading the Eagles with 101 tackles in 2017. The Florida native has played the best football of his career as a senior, totaling 8.5 tackles-for-loss and four sacks to go along with two interceptions and a forced fumble this season. Schwab has made 31 starts over his four-year career and played in 47 games for the Eagles, with 179 career tackles.

Sweeney nabbed All-ACC honors for the first time in his career and became the first BC tight end since Ryan Purvis in 2008 to garner All-ACC accolades. The New Jersey native is second on the team in receptions (29) and receiving yards (375) and leads BC with three touchdown receptions in 2017. Sweeney has started all 12 games for Boston College this year.

Walker is another first-time All-ACC recipient as a return specialist. The Florida native leads the nation with 1,110 combined kick return yards and is fifth nationally averaging 13.7 yards per punt return. Walker leads the ACC in punt returns (13.7) and is fifth in the conference in kickoff returns (24.3). Walker is fifth in BC single-season history with 754 kickoff return yards in 2017.

Despite leading the nation in tackles by a defensive lineman with 93, Allen was named All-ACC honorable mention. The Connecticut native has been one of the most disruptive players in the country in 2017, totaling a team-best 14.5 tackles-for-loss and tying for the team-lead with five sacks. Allen ranks second on the team with 93 tackles and totaled 40 tackles against nationally-ranked Clemson, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and NC State in 2017.

Schmal garnered All-ACC honorable mention honors for the first time as part of one of the top offensive lines in the ACC. The Georgia native played in all 12 games with 11 starts at left guard. BC scored 40+ points five times this season, the most since 2007 (five games).

Boston College will play in its fourth bowl game in five years under head coach Steve Addazio in December. The official announcement of the bowl game and opponent will be Sunday, December 3.

Boston College All-ACC first, second, third team & honorable mention selections
All-ACC first team
AJ Dillon, RB

All-ACC second team
Lukas Denis, S
Chris Lindstrom, OT

All-ACC third team
Harold Landry, DE
Ty Schwab, LB
Tommy Sweeney, TE
Michael Walker, SP

All-ACC honorable mention
Zach Allen, DE
Sam Schmal, OG

Players Mentioned

Zach Allen

Lukas Denis

AJ Dillon

Harold Landry

Chris Lindstrom

Sam Schmal

Ty Schwab

Tommy Sweeney

Michael Walker

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