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Five Seminoles Earn First Team Coaches All-ACC Team Honors

Florida State Football
Posted at 11:58 PM, Dec 09, 2015
and last updated 2015-12-09 23:58:00-05

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Florida State was honored with 11 total selections on the 2015 All-Atlantic Coast Conference football coaches team, as voted on by the league’s 14 head coaches.

Roberto Aguayo (K), Dalvin Cook (RB), Roderick Johnson (T), Nile Lawrence-Stample (DT) and Jalen Ramsey (CB) were all recognized as first team honorees, while Kermit Whitfield earned second team honors as a wide receiver and third team honors as a specialist. Travis Rudolph (WR) and Kareem Are (G) received Honorable Mention honors on the offensive side.

Defensively, Reggie Northrup (LB) claimed second team honors and DeMarcus Walker (DE) earned third team accolades.

Aguayo registered 106 points in 12 games connecting on 20-of-24 field goals and all 46 PATs. A three-time All-ACC honoree, Aguayo established a new ACC record for consecutive PATs made with 195. The Mascotte, Fla., native holds the distinction as the NCAA’s most accurate kicker with a .970 success rate.

Cook has tallied 1,658 rushing yards on 211 attempts in 11 games with 19 total touchdowns including 18 rushing touchdowns. He leads the ACC and is the only player to rank in the top six nationally in rushing yards/game (150.7), rushing yards/carry (7.9), all-purpose yards (1,876), total rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and scoring (10.4). The Miami, Fla., native became FSU’s all-time single-season leader in rushing yards and all-purpose yards in 2015.

Johnson started every game at left tackle in 2015 and helped pave the way on the offensive front to Cook’s record-setting season. The Florissant, Mo., native was the recipient of the 2015 ACC Jacobs Blocking Trophy and was named to the watch lists for the Outland Trophy and Rotary Lombardi Award.

Lawrence-Stample was dominant all season in the interior for the nation’s No. 6 scoring defense (15.8), compiling 33 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. The senior leader was integral in helping FSU allow only seven rushing touchdowns all season – third-best in the nation.

Ramsey finished with 43 tackles, a fumble recovery touchdown and tied for fifth in the ACC in pass breakups with 10. In his first year as a full-time cornerback, the Brentwood, Tenn., native consistently shutdown opponents’ top receivers for the nation’s only defense to not allow 25 points in a game.

Whitfield is also having a career year leading the team with 53 receptions and 742 receiving yards, while tied for the team lead with six touchdowns. The Orlando, Fla., native is the lone receiver with multiple 100-yard receiving games on the year. He is also averaging 28.1 yards per kickoff return, good for third in the ACC and 11th nationally. Whitfield is just 17 kickoff return yards shy of becoming FSU’s all-time career leader.

Northrup leads Florida State in tackles for the second consecutive season with 87 stops, while also contributing 1.0 TFL, three pass breakups and five hurries. Despite suffering an ACL injury in the 2014 Rose Bowl, Northrup came back strong to lead the heart of FSU’s defense and captured All-ACC honors for the second straight year.

Walker leads Florida State in sacks (10.5), tackles for loss (15.5) and forced fumbles (three), and the only defensive lineman in the ACC with more pass breakups than Walker’s five is teammate Giorgio Newberry (six).

Rudolph is second on the team in receptions (52) and receiving yards (715) and tied for the team lead with six touchdowns – all single-season career bests. He had a career-high 191 yards and three touchdowns against Syracuse on October 31.

Are appeared in all 12 games making seven starts, all at left guard, in 2015. He graded out a season-best of 83 percent at No. 1 Clemson. The native of Elmont, N.Y., has played a key role in helping Cook to his record-setting season.

Cook finished second in the running for ACC Player of the Year earning three votes from the coaches. Ramsey picked up a vote for Defensive Player of the Year, while freshman safety Derwin James also earned a vote for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players and ballots were worth three points for each first-team, two points for each second-team and one point for each third-team selection.