No. 11. Duke Johnson, RB, Miami
2012 stats: He had 28 kick returns for 892 yards (32 yards per game) and two touchdowns. He finished with 13 total touchdowns and 2,060 all-purpose yards. He had 947 rushing yards, 221 receiving yards. He also completed 1-of-2 passes for eight yards.
Previous ranking: NR
Making the case for Johnson: He merely finished what was arguably the greatest freshman season in the program’s history. There wasn’t much he didn’t do offensively, and the triple-threat true freshman was also one of the most explosive players in the country. He finished the regular season tied as the nation’s leader with 11 all-purpose plays of 50+ yards and was one of only 13 FBS players with at least two plays of 90+ yards. Johnson also led the nation with five kickoff returns of 50+ yards.
Not surprisingly, Johnson was named the ACC’s overall and offensive rookie of the year. He rushed for a school freshman record 947 yards and 10 touchdowns, breaking Clinton Portis’ 13-year-old school freshman rushing record. Johnson also set the school single-season record with 892 kick return yards and returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, tying a school record. He also set a single game ACC freshman record with 368 all-purpose yards on Nov. 10 at Virginia. He was named the ACC Rookie of the Week a league-best five times.
No. 12 Conner Vernon, WR, Duke
No. 14 Joe Vellano, DL, Maryland
No. 15 Lamarcus Joyner, S, Florida State
No. 16 Kevin Reddick, LB, North Carolina
No. 17 Stefon Diggs, WR, Maryland
No. 18 Ross Cockrell, CB, Duke
No. 19 Dustin Hopkins, K, Florida State
No. 20 Bryn Renner, QB, North Carolina
No. 21 Alex Amidon, WR, Boston College
No. 22 Antone Exum, CB, Virginia Tech
No. 23 Omoregie Uzzi, OG, Georgia Tech
No. 24 Michael Campanaro, WR, Wake Forest
No. 25 Mike Glennon, QB, NC State
