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For the 2nd year in a row, a Georgia Tech YellowJacket has been named ACC Rookie-of-the-Year. Calvin Johnson was honored today by the ACC, and as mentioned, he was also named to the Sporting News Freshman All-American 1st team as well. Story here.
I still will not forget what team co-caption and senior Andy Tidwell-Neal said about Johnson - that the day he showed up for practice, it was clear that Calvin Johnson was the best player on the football team. If that doesn't give you chills about the talent of this young man, I don't know what will. On top of that we only hear good things about the quality person he is - humble, dedicated, soft-spoken - all qualities you will be hard-pressed to find with some of the top NFL wide receivers.
Here's what Chan Gailey had to say about CJ:
"To me, the things that make him a special player are the intangibles, not the tangibles. It's not height, weight, speed, hands. It's work ethic, it's attitude, it's selflessness. He's a model citizen, and that's what makes him so valuable to the program."
So what conclusion do you draw when a team wins the ACC Rookie Award two years in a row. Does it mean depth is shallow? That's possible. But to any recruit thinking about playing time, Chan Gailey put it best:
Gailey added, "I think people recognize that we will play a freshman if he is the best player at that position."
CJ was only the 11th freshman ever to be named ACC 1st-team. Here are the other 10, along with GT's other ROY winners:
True Freshman Named First-Team All-ACC
1975 Ted Brown, RB, NCS
1976 Delbert Powell, SP, UNC
1976 James McDougald, RB, WF
1977 Amos Lawrence, RB, UNC
1981 Joe McIntosh, RB, NCS
1989 Robert O'Neal, DB, Clem
1990 Ronald Williams, RB, Clem
1995 Anthony Simmons, LB, Clem
2001 Nat Dorsey, OT, GaT
2002 T.A. McLendon, TB, NCS
2004 Calvin Johnson, WR, GaT
Georgia Tech's ACC Rookie of the Year Winners
1983 Cory Collier, RB
1985 Jerry Mays, RB
1989 Shawn Jones, QB
1991 Jimy Lincoln, RB
2003 Reggie Ball, QB
2004 Calvin Johnson, WR