Yates named ACC Player of Week
GREENSBORO, N.C. - North Carolina senior quarterback T.J. Yates and Maryland junior free safety Kenny Tate headline a list of eight players honored as the Atlantic Coast Conference football players of the week, announced Tuesday by the ACC.
Yates threw for a career-high 412 yards against LSU, setting a league record for most yards thrown by a quarterback in a season opener.
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Tate helped the Terrapins secure a 17-14 win against Navy as he stopped quarterback Ricky Dobbs on a fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 34 seconds remaining, maintaining the lead for Maryland.
Tate is joined by Terrapin teammate Joe Vellano, the defensive lineman selection.
Five more schools had players earn recognition, including Florida State's Zebrie Sanders, Georgia Tech's Sean Bedford, and Virginia's Oday Aboushi as co-offensive linemen.
Miami's Lamar Miller earned rookie of the week honors, and Clemson's Dawson Zimmerman was named the specialist of the week.
OFFENSIVE BACK - T.J. Yates, North Carolina, QB, Sr., 6-4, 220, Marietta, Ga. (Pope) Georgia native T.J. Yates completed 28 of 46 pass attempts for a career-high 412 yards and three touchdowns in North Carolina's 30-24 loss to LSU in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta.
Down by 20 points entering the fourth quarter, Yates connected on a 97-yard touchdown pass to Jheranie Boyd with 10:34 remaining, then tossed a touchdown to Erik Highsmith in the back corner of the end zone with 2:32 left.
The 97-yard pass to Boyd is the longest play from scrimmage in UNC history, topping a 93-yard pass play in 1987 and a 95-yard run in 1891.
Yates' attempts (46), completions (28) and yards (412) are the third-highest single-game totals in UNC history.
He also had no interceptions against the Tigers.