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Aaron Donald takes home ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sport

Aaron Donald, as expected, took home the ACC's Defensive Player of the Year award. There was a slim chance he could have been the overall Player of the Year, but that was a virtual impossibility with what Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston had done and the fact that he's leading the No. 1 team in the nation. Donald finished third for that award and was named on a few ballots.

There's really not much sense in rehashing Donald's amazing stats from this year, but why not. He had ten sacks, led the nation by a large margin with 26.5 tackles, and also racked up four forced fumbles. Donald also had 16 quarterback hurries (sounds low, right?), and the crucial blocked extra point against Syracuse to get Pitt to bowl eligibility.

Big, big year for the senior and I was glad to see him get some votes for top overall player. Defensive players often get left out and for him to get any consideration for Player of the Year tells you what he did was pretty special.

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