Pitt lands seven players on 2020 All-ACC teams

Pitt recently concluded its 2020 season with a 6-5 record, and while the results left something to be desired, multiple players put on standout individual performances. As a result, seven members of the team were awarded All-ACC honors on Tuesday morning, with three more Panthers earning honorable mention.

The first-team honorees included Pitt defensive ends Patrick Jones II and Rashad Weaver as well as Pitt return man D.J. Turner. Jones and Weaver formed a formidable duo on the edges of the defensive line, combining for 16.5 sacks and 27.5 tackles for losses this season. And on special teams, Turner, a Maryland transfer in his first year with Pitt, amassed 436 yards on kick returns, which ranked second in the ACC.

Pitt center Jimmy Morrissey was the team’s only offensive All-ACC honoree, and he made the 2020 second team after allowing just two sacks since the beginning of the 2019 season. Morrissey has earned All-ACC honors three years in a row, and he was joined on the 2020 All-ACC second team by Pitt kicker Alex Kessman and Pitt safety Damar Hamlin.

Kessman posted a career-high 100 points in 11 games in 2020 and became the most accurate long-distance kicker in NCAA history, as he converted on 12 of his 18 kicks from 50 yards out of farther. And Hamlin was once again solid in the Pitt secondary, leading the team with 67 tackles and seven pass breakups. He also came up with two interceptions.

Pitt linebacker SirVocea Dennis rounded out the team’s list of All-ACC honorees, earning a third-team nod after a breakout campaign. The former two-star prospect out of Syracuse, New York, defied recruiting analysts' expectations to tie Weaver for the team lead in tackles for losses, with 14.5, and he finished second only to Hamlin in total tackles, with 57.

Earning honorable mention from the ACC were Pitt guard Bryce Hargrove, Pitt receiver Jordan Addison and Pitt punter Kirk Christodoulou. Hargrove has long been one of Pitt’s most reliable offensive lineman, and Addison had a breakout freshman year, leading Pitt with 666 receiving yards. But Christodoulou may be the most notable snub for All-ACC honors, as he was named a second-team All-American by Pro Football Focus on Monday, after his 53 punts yielded just 83 return yards for opponents.