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Miami's Freshman Sensation Duke Johnson Wins ACC Rookie Of The Year

On Tuesday, the ACC media voted Duke Johnson for ACC rookie of the year in both the offensive and overall categories.

By Lt. Philip Nolan
Joel Auerbach

We knew it was coming. Stefon Diggs was close to him, but if you ever watched a Miami game and saw what Duke Johnson could do, you knew this award was his. Here's the official release from Miami:

Johnson Named ACC Rookie of the Year by ACSMA

Duke Johnson tabbed second-team All-ACC on Monday

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of Miami freshman Duke Johnson was named both the ACC Offensive and Overall Rookie of the Year, announced Tuesday by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA).

Johnson is the first Hurricane to win the rookie award following a breakout season in which he broke Clinton Portis’ 13-year-old school rushing record for freshmen, ending the season with 947 yards.

"It means a lot being the first in Miami history to win this award it means so much to me and the team because I couldn’t do it without my teammates," Johnson said. "And this is just another way to make my mom proud and show how I really appreciate the sacrifices she made for me when I was younger."

On Monday, the freshman speedster was selected to the All-ACC second team as both a running back and specialist. The five-time ACC Rookie of the Week honoree posted one of the best all-around freshman seasons in program history, accumulating 2,070 all-purpose yards (second-most in program history) and 13 touchdowns in 2012.

The Miami, Fla., product also set a Miami single-season record with 892 kick return yards and two touchdowns on 27 tries. He leads the ACC with a 33.04 kick return average – the fourth-best in FBS. His 947 rushing yards are the fourth-most among FBS freshmen, and he is tied as the national leader with 11 all-purpose plays of 50+ yards.

For the latest information on Miami Hurricanes Football, follow @HurricaneSports on Twitter and the official blog for Hurricanes Football, www.theufootball.com.

-www.HurricaneSports.com-
We all have seen Duke's story by now. The kid was basically born a Hurricane, and is now living his dream in a big way. Congrats to the young man, and we all look forward to 3 more years of watching him fill his trophy case full of opponent's ankles.