Greensboro, N.C. ----- Nine University of North Carolina football players, including four first-team defensive selections, have been named to the 2009 All-Atlantic Coast Conference teams as selected by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA). Defensive end Robert Quinn, linebacker Quan Sturdivant, cornerback Kendric Burney and safety Deunta Williams earned first-team honors, while linebacker Bruce Carter, defensive tackle Marvin Austin and place-kicker Casey Barth were named to the second team. Tight end Zack Pianalto and offensive tackle Kyle Jolly were honorable-mention picks.
Carolina's four first-team selections are the most by the Tar Heels since placing six on the 1997 all-conference squad. Carolina has not had four defensive players make first team since 1997, when five were honored. This is the first year since 2002 that the Tar Heels have had a defensive first-team all-conference selection.
Carolina's defense finished the regular season ranked among the top 15 nationally in all major statistical categories, including No. 6 in total defense (267.8 yards per game), No. 9 in rushing defense, No. 11 in pass efficiency defense and No. 14 in scoring defense.
Quinn, a sophomore from Ladson, S.C., had the second-highest vote total of any defensive player after finishing the season with 19 tackles for losses, including 11.0 sacks. Quinn ranked first in the ACC in tackles for losses, second in sacks and second in forced fumbles with six. He is the first defensive end to earn first-team All-ACC honors at UNC since Julius Peppers in 2001.
Sturdivant, a junior from Oakboro, N.C., is the first Tar Heel linebacker to earn first-team all-conference honors since Kivuusama Mays in 1997. For the second straight season, Sturdivant led the Tar Heels in tackles, finishing with 75, including 12.0 for loss, which ranked sixth in the conference.
Williams and Burney, both juniors from Jacksonville, N.C., took two of the four all-conference defensive backfield spots. Burney had 48 tackles and five interceptions for 200 yards and two touchdowns. He ranks second all-time in the ACC in interception return yardage and holds the UNC career record for interception returns for touchdowns with three. Burney is the first UNC cornerback to earn first-team all-league honors since Robert Williams and Dre' Bly in 1997.
Williams had a team-high six interceptions for 114 yards and finished the regular season with 41 tackles.
A native of Washington, D.C., Austin had 40 tackles, including six tackles for losses and four sacks. He was joined on the second-team defensive squad by Carter, who was second on the team with 61 tackles, including seven for losses. Barth became the first kicker at UNC since Jeff Reed in 2000 to earn all-conference honors after making 20 of 24 attempts, including 16 in a row at one point this season.
Despite missing four games to a foot injury, Pianalto was one of the top tight ends in the league with 31 receptions for 308 yards and a touchdown. Jolly graded out as the team's top offensive lineman and had 31 knockdown blocks on the season.
In the last two seasons, Carolina has had 16 all-conference selections, the most in any two-year period since 1996-97 (22).
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