All Barrel Team Line Backers

We continue our series on the best of the rest. The ACC lists 12 linebackers on its All-ACC team as either 1st-team, 2nd-team, or honorable mention. Seriously, 12 players? from a 12 team league? If you lead your team in tackles you made the All-ACC team. Tech's own Brad Jefferson received an honorable mention. Jefferson is a fine player, but there's no way he played well enough to deserve any post season awards.

First the All-ACC Team (Be fore warned, the All-ACC team will be playing a 4-4 this year, and at times a 4-5)

1st team - Cody Grim,VPI - Luke Kuechly, BC - Quan Sturdivant, UNC - Alex Wujciak - Maryland
2nd team - Vincent Rey, DU - Darryl Sharpton, UM - Bruce Carter, UNC - Dekoda Watson, FSU, Collin McCarthy, UM

Honorable Mention - Brad Jefferson, GIT - Steve Greer, UVA - Brandon Maye, CU

That doesn't leave us with much, but here are our choices.

Audie Cole - North Carolina State University

With 8.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, Coles numbers are arguably better than several players who made the All-ACC team. Of course playing on the Wolfpacks electronic football defense in which the coaches lined players up before the snap only to see them randomly vibrate around the board increased Cole's opportunities, still the boy did make plays, and you can't take that away from him.

Demetrius Hartsfield - Maryland

As a freshman Hartsfield was both part of the problem and the solution this year for the Terps. Maryland lost 41 scholarship athletes to graduation last off-season, which pretty much forced them to take their lumps with a lot of young guys this past season. But their is a fine line between taking your lumps and sucking. When you are taking your lumps you flash some tallent, you play hard and occasionally make plays. That fits Harsfield to a "T". Though none of his numbers are outstanding, they are pretty good when you consider he was a freshman playing on unit jambed full of underclassman.

Jake Johnson - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University of Virginia Technological and Agriculture College in Charlottesville Virginia

We thought about Nigel Bradham or Kendal Smith of Florida State, but then we remembered that Florida State finished 98th in the country in scoring defense. Putting a Florida State player on your all defensive team would be like putting the first mate of the Titanic in the Sailing Hall of Fame. It doesn't matter how good a first mate he was, he was still first mate of the Titanic. Johnson missed three games and still managed to put up good numbers, plus we like his flare.