Despite putting up one of the best single-season defensive performances in the history of the Louisville football program, senior linebacker Yasir Abdullah came up just short for 2022 ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
Instead, the conference announced Tuesday that Pitt junior defensive tackle Calijah Kancey had been tabbed as this year's ACC Defensive Player of the Year, as voted by a 65-member voting panel consisting of 51 selected media and the conference’s 14 head coaches. Kancey received the most votes with 19, while Abdullah finished second in the voting with 17.
The 6-foot-1, 242-pound outside linebacker was the driving force behind one of the most aggressive front sevens in all of college football. Abdullah led Louisville with 8.0 sacks and 13.0 tackles for loss, which was also good for second and eighth in the ACC, while also tallying 57 total tackles (31 solo). The Miramar, Fla. native also had two interceptions, four pass deflections, four forced fumbles and seven quarterback hurries.
For context, Kancey finished the regular season with 7.5 sacks, 14.5 tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hurries. However, he logged no forced fumbles, caught no interceptions, had no pass breakups and had much fewer total tackles than Abdullah at 31 (17 solo).
Abdullah was voted as a First-Team All-ACC selection on Tuesday. 12 Louisville players in total received 2022 All-ACC honors.
Louisville will find out their postseason draw on Sunday, Dec. 4 following the conclusion of conference championship weekend. The Cardinals finished the regular season at 7-5, and 4-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Complete 2022 ACC Defensive Player of the Year Voting:
Calijah Kancey, Pittsburgh, 19
Yasir Abdullah, Louisville, 17
Drake Thomas, NC State, 9
Jared Verse, Florida State, 7
Charlie Thomas, Georgia Tech, 4
Cedric Gray, North Carolina, 4
Kam Kinchens, Miami, 3
Tyler Davis, Clemson, 1
Myles Murphy, Clemson, 1
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