Hubbard Earns MAAC Rookie Honors

EDISON, N.J. – Loyola University Maryland redshirt freshman guard Tyler Hubbard (Mitchelville, Md./Montrose Christian High School) was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week on Monday after helping the Greyhounds win three games and capture the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament title last week.

Hubbard averaged 10.3 points per game and scored a high of 17 last Wednesday in the Greyhounds’ victory over UMBC. He entered the the game against the Retrievers and sparked a first-half Loyola run with 14 points before the break. In all, he made 6-of-7 shots and 4-of-5 from behind the arc against UMBC.

On Saturday afternoon in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off, Hubbard went for 11 points against Norfolk State, making three from behind the arc. He then scored just three, but was a part of critical defensive stops down thestretch, in the win over Albany to secure the tournament title.

In all, Hubbard averaged 10.3 points and an assist per game in the Greyhounds’ wins. He shot .667 (12-of-15) from the field and the same (.667, 8-of-12) from 3-point range. Earlier this season, Hubbard became thefirst Loyola player to make his collegiate debut and score 10 or more points since 2005 when he tallied 11 in the season opener against Binghamton.

The award is the first of Hubbard’s career and the first of the season for a Loyola player. The Greyhounds, who are 4-1, after playing five games in 10 days, return to action on Friday, November 23, when they take on the University of Rhode Island on the Rams’ home floor in a 7 p.m. tip.

NORFOLK, Va. — Coppin State’s Patrick Cole was named the Co-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week the league announced on Monday. Cole shared the award with Darryl Palmer of South Carolina State.

Cole scored 25 points against USC in his Coppin State debut. He finished the game 7-of-13 from the floor and made 3-of-4 three-point attempts to lead the Eagles in scoring against the Trojans. He also added a game-high six steals.

Cole scored the most points by a Coppin State player in a season opener since Jorge Cajigas had 28 points against UMBC on Nov. 19, 1999. It also was the most points scored by a CSU freshman in a season-opening game since the Eagles joined the MEAC in 1985-86.

Brandon Goode of Norfolk State was named the MEAC Player of the Week and Marques Oliver of Delaware State was honored as the Defensive Player of the Week.

Coppin State will face Texas tonight at 8 p.m. in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational in Austin, Texas.

Vellano, Diggs Earn ACC Weekly Honors

Vellano named defensive lineman of the week; Diggs named Rookie of the Week

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Maryland’s Joe Vellano and Stefon Diggs earned weekly honors from the ACC for their play against Boston College, the league announced Monday.

Vellano was named the defensive lineman of the week, while Diggs was named Rookie of the Week. It’s the first weekly honor for Vellano this season and the fourth for Diggs; he has earned Rookie of the Week honors three times and Specialist of the Week honors once.

Vellano was part of a defensive line that allowed Boston College to rush for just 8 net yards on 27 attempts. The senior recorded five tackles, including 2.5 sacks to total minus-22 yards, and also forced a fumble that the Terrapins recovered. Vellano leads the ACC and is tied for ninth nationally with 1.75 tackles for loss per game. He’s played a big role on a defense that ranks fourth nationally against the run, having surrendered just 77.6 yards per game.

Diggs, meanwhile, turned in his most productive receiving game this season, setting career marks with 152 receiving yards and 11 catches. The freshman caught a career-long 66-yard touchdown pass, marking the fourth time in the last five games he’s had a catch of at least 50 yards. It was the third 100-yard receiving game of the season for Diggs and vaulted him into 16th place on Maryland’s single-season receiving yards list with 666. That ranks second all-time among freshmen, trailing only Darrius Heyward-Bey’s 694 in 2006.

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SCHEDULING NOTE: The Atlantic Coast Conference on Monday announced ESPN has called for a 6-day option on the games of Nov.10. The game times and networks for all six games, including the Maryland-Clemson contest, will be announced no later than by noon on Sunday, Nov. 4

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Hartsfield named Linebacker of the Week, Diggs named Rookie of the Week

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Demetrius Hartsfield and Stefon Diggs received player of the week honors from the ACC for their play in Maryland’s 19-14 win over Wake Forest, the league announced Monday.

Hartsfield was named the Linebacker of the Week while Diggs received Rookie of the Week honors for the second time this season.

Hartsfield led a strong defensive effort as the Terrapins held the Demon Deacons to 241 yards of total offense, including just 45 in the second half and four in the fourth quarter. Hartsfield finished with 10 tackles, seven of them solo, one pass breakup and a sack. His sack of Wake quarterback Tanner Price on fourth-and-15 with under a minute to play essentially sealed the victory for Maryland.

Diggs, who also received Rookie of the Week honors for his play at West Virginia, turned in his second straight 100-yard receiving game by hauling in five passes for 105. His 63-yard reception in the fourth quarter, the longest by a Terrapin this year, set up the game-winning one-yard touchdown run by Justus Pickett.

On that play, Diggs caught a pass over the middle six yards beyond the line of scrimmage, and then took it 57 yards after the catch. The freshman also had 20 punt return yards and seven rushing yards, and ranks second in the ACC with 154.8 all-purpose yards per game.

A Terrapin has won Rookie of the Week honors in three of Maryland’s last four games (Perry Hills vs. Temple, Diggs vs. West Virginia, Diggs vs. Wake Forest.

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Diggs Named ACC Rookie of the Week

Freshman had 113 receiving yards, two touchdowns at No. 8 West Virginia

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Maryland freshman Stefon Diggs has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Week for his performance against No. 8 West Virginia, the league announced Monday.

Diggs made the most of his three touches on offense, turning three receptions into 113 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Terrapins’ 31-21 loss to the Mountaineers. The freshman had a 42-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter on a highlight-reel play in which he raced down the sideline and dove into the end zone from four yards out.

In the fourth quarter, he had a 56-yard touchdown catch. Diggs also added 63 kickoff return yards and 25 punt return yards to total 201 all-purpose yards, his second straight game with 200-plus. The Gaithersburg, Md., native ranks 12th nationally and third among freshmen with 160.5 all-purpose yards per game.

A Terp has captured two of the past three Rookie of the Week honors; quarterback Perry Hills earned the award after going 11 of 21 for 190 yards, two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown in a 36-27 win over Temple on Sept. 8.

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Atlantic Coast Conference Announces Football Players of the Week

Wake Forest’s Price, Campanaro, and Hazime headline honorees for performance against North Carolina

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Wake Forest quarterback Tanner Price, receiver Michael Campanaro, and defensive end Hasan Hazime headline a list of eight players named as the Atlantic Coast Conference Football Players of the Week, announced by the conference on Tuesday. Price threw for a career-high 327 yards, Campanaro caught a career-high 13 passes for 164 yards, and Hazime had five tackles in the Demon Deacons’ 28-27 win over North Carolina.

Freshman quarterback Perry Hills led the Terrapins to a 36-27 win at Temple and was recognized as the Rookie of the Week.

Two Virginia Cavaliers were recognized for their performance in the 17-16 victory over Penn State. Steve Greer tallied a career-high 15 tackles to be named the Linebacker of the Week, and senior Oday Aboushi, who had 12 knockdown blocks, was named the Offensive Lineman of the Week.

Clemson’s Spencer Benton connected on a 61-yard field goal to set a new ACC record and was named the Specialist of the Week. NC State’s Earl Wolff, the Defensive Back of the Week, intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble to help the Wolfpack win at Connecticut.

OFFENSIVE BACK – Tanner Price, Wake Forest, Jr., QB, 6-2, 205, Austin, Tex.

Price completed 27 of 38 passes for 327 yards in Wake Forest’s 28-27 win over North Carolina on Sept. 8.  Price also carried seven times for 5 yards and rushed for a pair of touchdowns.  Price’s 327 yards represented a career-high in passing yards and the two rushing touchdowns were also a career-best.  Trailing 27-21 with 6:36 to play in the game, Price led Wake Forest on an 11-play, 93-yard drive for the game-winning touchdown.  On the drive, Price completed five of seven passes for 67 yards and carried three times for 5 yards including the game-winning 1-yard TD plunge.

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN – Oday Aboushi, Virginia, Sr., OT, 6-6, 310, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Senior offensive tackle Oday Aboushi had another solid day, grading out at 92 percent on 65 plays. He had 12 knockdown blocks against the Penn State front seven.

RECEIVER – Michael Campanaro, Wake Forest, Jr., WR, 5-11, 195, Clarksville, Md.

Campanaro caught a career-high 13 passes for a career-high 164 yards in Wake Forest’s 28-27 win over North Carolina on Saturday.  Campanaro had nine catches for 108 yards in the first half as Wake Forest built a 21-14 halftime lead.  He had four catches for 56 yards in the second half, including one 15-yard reception on the game-winning drive.  Campanaro’s 13 receptions were two shy of the school record and the most ever by a Deacon versus the Tar Heels.

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN – Hasan Hazime, Wake Forest, Sr., DE, 6-5, 270, Pickering, Ontario

Hazime had five tackles including three solos and two assists versus North Carolina.  A fifth-year transfer from Akron, Hazime made his first career start for Wake Forest on Saturday, filling in for an injured DE Zach Thompson.  Hazime had a sack of North Carolina QB Bryn Renner, forcing a fumble which he then recovered, settingup Wake Forest’s go-ahead touchdown in the second quarter.  Hazime also broke up a team-high two pass attempts by the Tar Heels.

LINEBACKER – Steve Greer, Virginia, Sr., LB, 6-2, 230, Solon, Ohio

Greer had the best game of his career in Virginia’s 17-16 victory against Penn State. Greer registered a career-high 15 tackles and tied his career high with two sacks. He finished the game with 2.5 tackles for loss. Greer was part of a Cavalier defense that rose up and kept the Nittany Lions out of the end zone and forced them to attempt field goals, which they converted just 1 of 5. The Virginia defense held Penn State to just -14 total yards and 3 total points following four Cavalier turnovers during the game. Three of those turnovers came inside the Virginia 25-yard line and the fourth was at the 38-yard line. Penn State managed just 2.9 yards per play during the game.

DEFENSIVE BACK – Earl Wolff, NC State, Sr.,S, 6-0, 207, Raeford, N.C.

Wolff tallied seven stops (including five first hits or solos) in the 10-7 road win over UConn, even though he played just three quarters after leaving with an injury. He picked off the fifth pass of his career in the second half with UConn driving when Wolff caught the interception at midfield and returned it 16 yards. The senior made perhaps the biggest play of the game on defense in the third quarter when he recovered a fumble that Brandan Bishop forced with NC State leading 3-0. That gave the Pack the ball at the UConn 41 and three plays later, State scored its only touchdown of the afternoon.

SPECIALIST – Spencer Benton, Clemson, Sr., K, 6-1, 195, Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Benton kicked an ACC record 61-yard field goal in Clemson’s 52-27 victory over Ball State.  The 61-yard field goal broke the previous Clemson record by four yards and broke the previous ACC record by a yard.  It was just the fourth field goal of 60 yards or more at the FBS level this century (The fifth was kicked later in the afternoon by Andrew Furney of Washington State against Eastern Washington, a 60-yarder). In addition to his record setting field goal, Benton kicked off five times with four resulting in touchbacks. He also had a 43-yard average on two punts, both of which pinned Ball State inside its own 20. He also held on Clemson place kicks, except for his 61-yard attempt.

ROOKIE – Perry Hills, Maryland, Fr., QB, 6-3, 205, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Hills, who last week became the first freshman to start a season opener for Maryland since Calvin McCall in 1999, had an excellent outing in the 36-27 win against Temple. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native went 11 of 21 for 190 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran for a touchdown. He also made several momentum-changing plays on third down: he ran for an 11-yard TD on third-and-goal after a low snap that hit the ground; he hit Marcus Leak for a 39-yard gain on third-and-17 in the third quarter; and finally, hooked up with Stefon Diggs down the sideline for 38 yards on a third-and-11 with under 4:00 left and Maryland clinging to a 29-27 lead. In all, Hills led Maryland on six scoring drives (four touchdowns, two field goals) in its 36-27 win over Temple.