No. 6 Cornellius "Tank" Carradine
2012 stats: Carradine finished second in the ACC with 11 sacks, behind teammate Bjoern Werner, and finished with a whopping 80 tackles, a huge number for a defensive lineman. His exceptional play earned him a spot on the coaches' and media ACC first-team, and he also received votes for ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
Previous ranking: NR.
Making the case: Carradine began the season as a backup to preseason All-America candidate Brandon Jenkins, but soon found himself in the starting lineup after Jenkins went out for the season with a foot injury in Week 2. Carradine went on to start the next 10 games, and the Seminoles did not skip a beat with him the lineup. We all saw why coach Jimbo Fisher referred to Jenkins, Carradine and Werner as his 1A, 1B and 1C defensive ends.
Carradine teamed with Werner to form the best defensive end tandem in the ACC -- perhaps the nation -- as the two combined for 24 sacks. The coaches noticed the impact he made, and the incredible effort he gave, as he earned two votes for ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Unfortunately, his season was cut short after he tore his ACL against Florida, but Carradine is expected to make a full recovery and become a high draft pick in April.
No. 7 Sylvester Williams, DT, North Carolina
No. 8 Dalton Freeman, C, Clemson
No. 9 Andre Ellington, RB, Clemson
No. 10 Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State
No. 11 Duke Johnson, RB, Miami
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
