College Football

Louisville Football: 11 Cardinals Honored With All-ACC Honors

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 10:13 p.m. ET

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We take a look at the eleven Louisville football players who were picked to one of the ACC conference’s All-Conference teams on Thursday.

The Louisville football team was honored to have eleven players make an All-ACC team this year. There were many deserving players, but only 11 of them were lucky enough to be chosen. With only a few weeks left until the bowl game, let’s hope this notoriety will help boost their confidence after a rough ending to the regular season.

With that being said, let’s take a look at the eleven players:

Nov 26, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) takes the snap during the second quarter against the Kentucky Wildcats at Papa John

1st Team Offense: QB, Lamar Jackson

There shouldn’t be any surprise after Jackson was already named the player of the year by the ACC coaches. Sorry Dabo Swinney, it looks like your boy isn’t the best player in the country after all. It turns out that Lamar Jackson is the ACC’s first team quarterback after this season.

It was clear from the start that Jackson was going to be a first team player, hands down.

Here was the rest of the 1st team:

Next: Cards On The 2nd Team All-ACC Offense

Oct 1, 2016; Clemson, SC, USA; Louisville Cardinals tight end Cole Hikutini (18) carries the ball during the third quarter against the Clemson Tigers at Clemson Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

2nd Team Offense: TE, Cole Hikutini

Cole Hikutini was easily one of the best players in the entire conference this season. There are so many good things that I could say about him that it would be impossible to cram them all into one post.

He ended up leading all Louisville receivers in touchdowns this year, which proved his play-making ability and the chemistry that he developed with Lamar Jackson.

While he is graduating after this season, Hikutini has a great opportunity to go and play in the National Football League.

His ability to block and catch the football will jump off the tape, especially when compared to other tight-ends in college football.

This was a well-deserved honor for Cole Hikutini.

Nov 5, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Louisville Cardinals wide receiver James Quick (17) is picked up by offensive lineman Geron Christian (74) after scoring a touchdown during the first quarter against the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

3rd Team Offense:  WR, James Quick T, Geron Christian G, Kiola Mahoni

Would you look at that, the three players who I personally didn’t think would make an All-Conference team actually made the list. Quick, Christian, and Mahoni were the only three Cards that were on the third team offense.

The offensive line for Louisville was one of the main reasons why the Cardinals didn’t make their goals some true this season. It was their poor play that killed the Cards down in Houston and made Lamar Jackson run for his life.

Quick on the other hand, had a great start to the season, but quickly started to fade as the season went along.

Still, these three players were deserving in the eyes of the people that voted and I guess that’s good enough for me as well.

Nov 12, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals linebacker Devonte Fields (92) celebrates after sacking Wake Forest Demon Deacons quarterback John Wolford (10) during the second half at Papa John

1st Team Defense: LB, Devonte Fields

I don’t want to be a hater, but I don’t believe Devonte Fields was deserving of being placed on the first team this year. He came into the season as a very popular pick to be the ACC’s defensive player of the year, but fell short of every expectation thrown his way.

I actually believe that he is still one of the Cards’ best NFL prospects, but there should be cause to pump the brakes because of his unproductive senior season under Todd Grantham.

With that being said, I am not saying that Fields doesn’t have the talent to be a 1st teamer, but what I am saying is that he didn’t play like it this season.

Actually, his fellow linebacker James Hearns deserved to be on the list.

Dec 30, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Louisville Cardinals cornerback Jaire Alexander (10) celebrates after a punt return during the first half against the Texas A&M Aggies in the 2015 Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

2nd Team Defense: CB, Jaire Alexander and Josh Harvey-Clemons

Jaire Alexander and Josh Harvey-Clemons were perfect choices for the second team. Harvey-Clemons will surely be one of the top safety prospects coming out in the draft, while Alexander had his breakout season as a Louisville Cardinal.

Alexander will return for his junior season next year and will be looking to build off of his strong 2016 campaign. He was rated one of the best cover-corners in the NCAA by Pro Football Focus and was king of forcing turnovers.

He was one of the best defenders in the entire conference at picking off the football, while also translating punt returns into points.

Congratulation to both of these deserving players.

Oct 29, 2016; Charlottesville, VA, USA; Louisville Cardinals defensive tackle DeAngelo Brown (97) lines up against the Virginia Cavaliers at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

3rd Team Defense: DT, DeAngelo Brown, LB Keith Kelsey, S Chucky Williams

There were three different players on Louisville’s defense that were named to the 3rd team defense. These guys had great seasons for Todd Grantham, as they had their defense ranked towards the top teams in college football all season long.

Brown and Kelsey will be playing their last games as Louisville Cardinals at the end of this month against LSU. While these guys have made some big plays for the Cards, it was clear that they weren’t among the best players in the conference.

However, being named to the 3rd team ACC defense is still something that they will be proud of.

Not to mention, being on this list just might help their case when the NFL Draft rolls around next April.

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