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Pitt RB tops Jameis Winston as ACC player of the year

 
James Conner beats Jameis Winston by three votes in ACC player of the year voting.
James Conner beats Jameis Winston by three votes in ACC player of the year voting.
Published Dec. 4, 2014

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Pittsburgh running back James Conner was named ACC player of the year Wednesday, beating out last year's winner, FSU's Jameis Winston, by three votes.

Conner also was selected as the offensive player of the year and Clemson defensive end Vic Beasley was selected as the defensive player of the year.

Conner received 16 of 55 votes cast by members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association. Beasley was third overall with eight votes. Miami running back Duke Johnson had five votes and FSU receiver Rashad Greene had two votes.

Conner led the conference and ranks sixth nationally with an average of 139.6 yards rushing, had an ACC-leading 144 points and rushed for a school-record 24 touchdowns.

Beasley had ACC bests of 11 sacks and 181/2 tackles for losses.

See the full voting on Page 2C.

Walter Camp award: Five player of the year finalists were named: Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon, Arizona linebacker Scooby Wright, TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin and Alabama receiver Amari Cooper. The winner will be announced Dec. 11.

Obituary: Former University of North Dakota coach Marvin "Whitey" Helling died Sunday at 91. He was living in Englewood, in Charlotte County. From 1957-67 at UND he went 60-35-3 and built a Division II power. UND is now Division I. His players included Errol Mann and Dave Osborn, who had successful NFL careers.

Arkansas State: The Red Wolves will play in the Jan. 4 GoDaddy Bowl for the fourth consecutive year, against a Mid-American Conference team.

Nebraska: The Cornhuskers reportedly are in serious talks with Arkansas coach Bret Bielema about their coaching vacancy. Bielema said Wednesday: "My commitment to Arkansas is long term.''

women's soccer: Tampa's Cici Gonzalez and Saint Leo's Arielle Kabangu were named Division II first-team All-Americans, and Tampa's Lauren Moore was a third-team All-American.