With the conclusion of the 2002 ACC Football Kickoff in Pinehurst, N.C., ACC commissioner John Swafford announced the ACC 50th Anniversary Football Team, which is part of the festivities celebrating the conference's anniversary year.
A 150-member blue-ribbon committee picked the top 50 players in ACC history and put them on the team regardless of position or number of years played.
The committee voted five Cavaliers into the ACC history books, with the most recent player having played for Virginia in 1996. The Cavaliers that made the cut were Tiki Barber (1993-96), Jim Dombrowski (1982-85), Herman Moore (1988-90), Frank Quayle (1966-68) and Chris Slade (1988-92).
Barber has two of the top five best single season rushing performances in the history of the ACC, and that alone was enough to propel him onto the team. Barber was a two-time All-ACC First Team member his junior and senior year, and was named the 1996 ACC player of the year after leading in rushing and total yards. Barber is now a standout running back for the New York Giants alongside All-Time NCAA rushing leader Ron Dayne.
Wide Receiver Herman Moore was a two-time All-American while at Virginia, including first team All-American. At the time, Moore lit up NCAA and ACC records across the board. When he left school early for the NFL, he held the single season ACC recieving record (1,190) and was the NCAA record holder with highest yards per catch average in history (22.0). Moore also held the Cavalier record for the most receptions in a season, but that was blown away last season by current Virginia star Billy McMullin.
Defensive lineman Chris Slade left his mark on the ACC, and occasionally members of the opposition in the late 80s and early 90s, when he was named first team All-American for two years. He also was named the 1992 National Defensive Player of the Year when he recorded 15 sacks. A year earlier he sacked the quarterback 14 times. He still holds the ACC career record for sacks with 40.
Dombrowski, yet another two-time All-American, is still considered to be one of the best lineman in ACC history. He won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy for the ACC's best lineman in 1984 and 1985.
Frank Quayle was another one of Virginia's dominating running backs, but he tore up the gridiron in the 1960s decades before the likes of Barber. During his era, Quayle held just about every ACC tailback award that there was to be presented. He held ACC records for most rushing yards in a career, season and game, most points in a career, most career TDs and most all-purpose yards in a season and a career before they were all usurped over time. He also held an NCAA record when he led the nation in all-purpose yards during the 1966 season.
Though the team seems to be well selected, there are a few names left off that some feel should have been included.
The name left off that seems most surprising is that of Anthony Poindexter, Virginia's newest graduate assistant. Poindexter is widely considered to be one of the best safeties to ever play at an ACC school, and changed the way offenses operated against the Cavaliers. Another name that was not among the top 50 was Shawn Moore, a Virginia quarterback who was a runner-up for Heisman in the early 90s.
Clemson led the way with nine players on the 50-man team, with Florida State close behind with eight players. Florida State has only been in the ACC since 1991.
North Carolina also had eight players on the list followed by N.C. State with six. Following Virginia were Maryland (4), Duke (3), Georgia Tech (3), Wake Forest (3) and South Carolina (1).
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