GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) –
Hall of Fame inductees, record setters and NFL standouts highlight the 2019
Atlantic Coast Conference Football Legends class announced on Wednesday.
The 14-member group of honorees includes Boston
College’s Joe Nash, Clemson’s Brian Dawkins, Duke’s Chris Port, Florida State’s
Ron Sellers, Georgia Tech’s Derrick Morgan, Louisville’s Deion Branch, Miami’s
Bernie Kosar, North Carolina’s Julius Peppers, NC State’s Nate Irving, Pitt’s
Rickey Jackson, Syracuse’s Joe Morris, Virginia’s Don Majkowski, Virginia
Tech’s DeAngelo Hall and Wake Forest’s Bob McCeary.
This year’s class will be honored during
the ACC Night of Legends presented by the Charlotte Sports Foundation at the
Charlotte Convention Center, on Friday, Dec. 6, and during the on-field pregame
festivities at the 15th annual ACC Football Championship Game, set for 7:30
p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7, at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium.
Tickets to the 2019 ACC Football Championship
Game are currently on sale via Ticketmaster and can also be purchased on the
ACC’s official website, theACC.com, and at the Bank of America Stadium Ticket
Office. Prices start at $45 for upper level seating and $55 for lower level
seating. This year all tickets for the game will follow the Bank of America
mobile ticket process. Fans must access their digital tickets through their
mobile phones in order to enter the stadium.
The complete 2019 ACC Football Legends Class:
| ACC Legend | School | Pos. | Years | Hometown |
| Joe Nash | Boston College | DL | 1978-81 | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Brian Dawkins | Clemson | FS | 1992-95 | Jacksonville, Florida |
| Chris Port | Duke | OT | 1986-89 | Wanaque, New Jersey |
| Ron Sellers | Florida State | FL | 1966-68 | Jacksonville, Florida |
| Derrick Morgan | Georgia Tech | LB | 2007-09 | Coatesville, Pennsylvania |
| Deion Branch | Louisville | WR | 2000-01 | Albany, Georgia |
| Bernie Kosar | Miami | QB | 1983-84 | Youngstown, Ohio |
| Julius Peppers | North Carolina | LB | 1998-2000 | Bailey, North Carolina |
| Nate Irving | NC State | LB | 2006-10 | Teachey, North Carolina |
| Rickey Jackson | Pitt | LB | 1977-80 | Pahokee, Florida |
| Joe Morris | Syracuse | RB | 1978-81 | Ayers, Massachusetts |
| Don Majkowski | Virginia | QB | 1984-86 | Buffalo, New York |
| DeAngelo Hall | Virginia Tech | CB | 2001-03 | Chesapeake, Virginia |
| Bob McCreary | Wake Forest | OT/DT | 1958-60 | Newton, North Carolina |
Each of the ACC’s 14 football schools selected
its 2019 Legend. Below is a further glance at each member of this year’s ACC
Football Legends Class.
Joe Nash, Boston College (1978-81) – Came to Boston College in the fall of
1978 and broke into the Eagles’ starting lineup as a freshman • The 6-3,
250-pound defensive lineman played three years at defensive tackle before
moving to nose guard as a senior • In his final season with the Eagles, he
recorded 88 tackles, five sacks, and one fumble recovery to earn All-New
England accolades • Signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent,
he played his entire 16-year NFL career with the team, earning Pro Bowl and
All-Pro honors in 1984 • Career NFL stats included 47 ½ quarterback sacks, an
interception and two touchdowns scored • Named to Seahawks’ 35th anniversary
team • Inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in
1999.
Brian Dawkins, FS, Clemson (1992-95) – Named a second-team All-American by the
Associated Press and The Sporting News after his senior year • Second-team
All-ACC defensive back in 1993 and 1994 and a first-team selection as a senior
in 1995 • Tied a Clemson record with three interceptions against Duke in 1995 •
All three picks came in one quarter, and he remains the only Clemson player
ever to have three interceptions in a single quarter • Finished his career with
15 takeaways – 11 interceptions and four fumble recoveries • Registered 251
total tackles in 46 games • Entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a 16-year
NFL career with Philadelphia and Denver • Nine-time Pro Bowler had 1,131
tackles 37 interceptions, 26 sacks, 120 pass deflections, 36 forced fumbles and
19 fumble recoveries in 224 career NFL games (221 starts).
Chris Port, OT, Duke (1986-89) – Played a prominent role in the resurgence of
Duke football under head coach Steve Spurrier in the late 1980s • Earned the
1989 Jacobs Blocking Trophy, which is awarded to the ACC’s top blocker, after
his stellar offensive line play helped the Blue Devils to an 8-4 overall
record, the ACC co-championship and a berth in the All-American Bowl •
First-team All-America selection by the Football Writers Association of America
for his standout work on a Duke offense that averaged 31.4 points per game •
Two-time All-ACC first-team selection • Spent six seasons with the New Orleans
Saints after being selected in the 12th round of the 1990 NFL Draft • Helped
the Saints to three playoff berths and a 53-43 regular-season record during his
tenure.
Ron Sellers, FL, Florida State (1966-1968) – Remains the most prolific receiver in Florida
State history after setting NCAA receiving records that stood from the time of
his graduation until the late 1980s • Caught 212 passes for 3,598 yards during
his three years on the Seminole varsity, including at least one reception in 30
consecutive games • Led Florida State to three consecutive winning seasons and
bowl appearances each year • Consensus All-American in 1967 • Had 70 catches
for 1,228 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior, followed by 86 receptions for
1,496 yards and 12 scores as a senior • Caught at least 13 passes in a game
seven times • Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame following a
career that included 19 100-yard receiving games and five 200-yard games • Jersey
number (34) is retired by FSU.
Derrick Morgan, DE, Georgia Tech (2007-09) – Named the 2009 ACC Defensive Player of the
Year for his contributions to a Yellow Jacket squad that finished atop the
Coastal Division and defeated Clemson in the ACC Championship Game • Finished
the season with 55 tackles, including 18.5 for loss, and 12.5 sacks • Named
first-team All-American by the Associated Press, American Football Writers
Association and Scout.com • Entered the NFL Draft following his junior season and
was taken in the opening round as the No. 16 overall pick by the Tennessee
Titans • Played nine seasons in the pros – all with the Titans – and started
106 of 118 games and had 44.5 sacks while playing defensive end and outside
linebacker • Inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in October
of 2019.
Deion Branch, WR, Louisville (2000-01) – All-conference wide receiver who led the
Cardinals to consecutive Liberty Bowls • In two seasons with Louisville, caught
143 passes for 2,204 yards and 18 touchdowns • The junior college transfer was
only the third player in school history to produce back-to-back 1,000-yard
receiving seasons, totaling 1,188 yards in 2001 and 1,016 in 2000 • Drafted in
the second round by New England, and played 11 seasons for the Patriots and
Seattle Seahawks • Earned MVP of Super Bowl XXXIX with the Patriots with 11
catches for 133 yards (tied as the most Super Bowl receptions at the time) •
Played in 140 NFL games with career totals of 518 receptions, 6,644 yards
and 39 touchdowns.
Bernie Kosar, QB, Miami, (1983-84) – Threw for 5,971 yards and 40 touchdowns
in 1983 and 1984 • Led Miami to its first national championship as a redshirt
freshman in 1983 • Name MVP for his 300-yard passing performance in the
Hurricanes’ 31-30 victory over Nebraska in the 1984 Orange Bowl • Although he
only played two seasons, he left UM holding school career records for passes
completed, passing yards, total offense and touchdown passes thrown • Still
holds the school record for career passing completion percentage • First-team
CoSIDA Academic All-American in 1984 • First-round NFL supplemental draft pick
of the Cleveland Browns • Finished his NFL career with 23,301 yards and 124
touchdowns • Member of the Super Bowl XXVIII champion Dallas Cowboys in 1993 •
Ended his career with the Miami Dolphins.
Julius Peppers, DE, North Carolina
(1999-2001) – Candidate for
induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2020 • Unanimous first-team
All-America in 2001, he won the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation’s top
defensive player and the Rotary Lombardi Award, which at the time was given to
the nation’s top interior lineman • Finished 10th in the 2001 Heisman Trophy
balloting, was a finalist for the Nagurski Trophy and was honored as
Chevrolet’s Defensive Player of the Year • Also a starting forward on UNC’s
2000 NCAA Final Four basketball team • Finished his career with 167
tackles, 30.5 sacks, 53 tackles for loss, five interceptions and five forced
fumbles • The No. 2 overall selection by the Carolina Panthers in the 2002 NFL
Draft, he earned nine Pro Bowl selections and was named to the NFL’s All-Decade
team of the 2000s.
Nate Irving, LB, NC State (2007-10) – Earned first-team All-America honors from
Sports Illustrated and Scout.com as a senior but may be most remembered for his
courageous comeback following an automobile accident in which he was seriously
injured and forced to the sidelines for the entire 2009 season • Returned in
2010 to lead NC State with 97 tackles, while starting all 13 games • Set an
NCAA record with eight tackles for loss in a win over Wake Forest • Named the
nation’s “elite” linebacker by College Football Performance Awards •
Co-recipient of the 2010 Brian Piccolo Award, which is presented annually to
the ACC’s “most courageous” player • Finished his college career with 39.5
tackles for loss in 34 games • Spent five seasons in the NFL with the Denver
Broncos and Indianapolis Colts.
Rickey Jackson, DE, Pitt (1977-80) – Collected 290 career tackles at Pitt and still
ranks 18th on the school’s all-time list • Paired with Hugh Green to form one
of the most feared defensive end tandems in college football history • Jackson
was an integral part of a Pitt defense in 1980 that ranked No. 1 in the country
and surrendered just 11 points per game. • A second-round draft pick by New
Orleans and spent 15 seasons in the NFL (1981-95) • Compiled an incredible 128
sacks, which ranked third all-time when he retired following the 1995 season •
Recovered 28 fumbles (second most in NFL history) and forced 41 (fourth
all-time) • Broke up 118 passes • Earned a Super Bowl ring as a member of the
1994 San Francisco 49ers • Entered Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
Joe Morris, RB, Syracuse (1978-81) – Holds or shares 16 school records, including rushing
yards in a single game (252 in 1979 versus Kansas), single-season rushing yards
(1,372 in 1979) and career rushing yards (4,299) • Also the program’s all-time
leader in rushing yards per game (113.1), 100-yard games (22) and all-purpose
yardage (5,581) • Posted three 1,000-yard rushing seasons • Earned All-America
honors as a sophomore in 1979 and as a senior in 1981 • Selected by the New
York Giants in the 1982 NFL Draft and played eight seasons professionally •
Two-time pro bowl selection • Set the then-franchise record for career rushing
yards (5,296) • Helped the 1986 Giants to the first Super Bowl championship in
franchise history • One of only six players in Syracuse program history to have
his jersey retired.
Don Majkowski, Virginia, QB (1984-86) – A three-year starter at Virginia • Guided the
Cavaliers to the first bowl game in school history – a 27-24 win over Purdue in
the 1984 Peach Bowl • Completed his career in 1986 as the second-leading passer
in school history with 3,901 yards, 22 touchdowns and 286 completions •
Virginia’s leading passer in 1984, ’85, and ’86 despite missing six weeks his
final year due to a separated shoulder • Became a starter in the NFL with the
Green Bay Packers • From 1987 through 1992, he played in 68 games, completing
889 passes for 10,870 yards and 56 touchdowns • Led the NFL with 4,318 passing
yards in 1989 and was named to the Pro Bowl and All-Madden teams • Played two
seasons each with the Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions • Inducted into the
Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 2005.
DeAngelo Hall, Virginia Tech, CB (2001-03) – Played in 35 career games for Virginia
Tech and amassed 172 total tackles and eight interceptions – one of which he
returned for a touchdown • Also returned 53 punts for 786 yards and four
touchdowns • Saw spot duty on the offensive unit, catching seven passes for 86
yards and one touchdown, and rushing twice for 21 yards and one touchdown • Jim
Thorpe Award semifinalist in his junior season • Still holds or shares the
school record for punt returns for a touchdown in a game (two), in a season
(three), and in a career (five) • Three-time Pro Bowl defensive back who played
14 seasons for the Falcons, Raiders and Redskins • Tied for an NFL record
for most interceptions in a single game (four) and holds the record for most
career fumble return yards (328) in NFL history.
Bob McCreary, OT/DT, Wake Forest
(1958-60) – Lettered three years
from 1958-60 as an offensive and defensive lineman • Despite undergoing surgery
for a serious leg injury, saw action at left tackle as a junior in 1958 and at
right tackle in 1959 • A fifth-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in the
1961 NFL Draft, McCreary moved to Dallas where he became a starter for the
Cowboys in 1961 • Also spent a season with Calgary of the Canadian Football
League • Founded McCreary Modern, a furniture company, in 1986 • Significant
contributions to his alma mater have included lead gifts for the McCreary Field
House, the Bob McCreary Video Board Honoring the Class of 1961 and McCreary
Tower (completed in 2008) • Has also been a consistent supporter of
student-athlete scholarships.
