Normally, the end of a team's season marks sad times for its fans. Not for the North Carolina Tar Heels , who severely underwhelmed in Bill Belichick's first year as their head football coach.
UNC suffered through a 4-8 record, struggling early and late against Power Four competition. North Carolina's lone wins came against Charlotte, Richmond, Syracuse and Stanford , with several near-victories against the likes of Virginia , Duke and Cal.
Despite the Tar Heels ' on-field struggles, they found several key contributors across their roster. On Tuesday, five UNC players earned ALL-ACC honors.
Defensive end Melkart-Abou Jaoude is Second Team All-ACC, while linebackers Khmori House , Andrew Simpson , wide receiver Jordan Shipp and kicker Rece Verhoff are Honorable Mention All-ACC.
Abou-Jaoude, a Delaware transfer, led the entire ACC with 10.5 sacks. The highlight of Abou-Jaoude's season came during a late-October/early-November stretch, when he totaled eight sacks in three games.
House, who came over from Washington with defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, led North Carolina with 78 tackles (45 solo). House tied for the team lead with six quarterback hurries, while adding a forced fumble, interception and pass breakup.
Shipp stepped up to become an offensive leader when the Tar Heels needed one most. Shipp recorded several team-highs: 60 catches, 671 yards and six receiving touchdowns.
Simpson, who transferred over from Boise State after helping lead the Broncos to their first-ever, College Football Playoff appearance, formed a formidable linebacker tandem with House. Simpson totaled 60 tackles (31 solo), nine TFLs, six QBHs, five sacks, a forced fumble, interception and PBU.
WIthout Verhoff, a Marshall transfer, UNC likely wins less games. Verhoff made 19 of his 23 field goals attempts, including a career-best 57-yarder at Wake Forest , plus all 20 of his extra-point attempts.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC football has five standouts earn spots on All-ACC teams
