Tiger Notebook: DeAndre Hopkins, Quandon Christian named to freshman All-ACC team

Hopkins, Christian Named Freshman All-ACC: Clemson freshmen DeAndre Hopkins and Quandon Christian have been named to the first-team Freshman All-ACC team by Rivals.com. Hopkins was named to the team as a receiver and punt returner, and Christian made the team as a linebacker.

Hopkins was also named a third-team freshman All-American receiver by Phil Steele and was an honorable mention freshman All-American by College Football News.

Hopkins is Clemson's top receiver this year with 43 receptions for 532 yards and four touchdowns. Those statistics include 25 receptions for 346 yards over the last four games of the season. He had eight coaches for 106 yards against Florida State and seven receptions for 124 yards against South Carolina. His 124 receiving yards were the most by a Clemson player under Dabo Swinney.

Hopkins' reception yardage totals rank as the most in school history by a true freshman, and third best by any freshman. His four touchdown receptions are tied for the most by a Clemson freshman.

Christian started seven of Clemson's 12 games this year and finished the regular season with 24 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss. He had a season high five tackles at North Carolina and contributed four stops in the win over Georgia Tech in 54 tackles as a starter.

Jay Rome Leaning To Georgia: Jay Rome – rated by some analysts as the nation's top tight end, and the son of former Clemson two-sport star Stan Rome – is leaning to Georgia after making his official visit to Athens, according to reports by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and ValdostaToday.com. Rome had previously listed Georgia, Clemson, Alabama and Tennessee as his favorites.

Virginia Beach linebacker Travis Hughes is also nearing a decision, and is expected to announce his choice of Saturday from among Clemson, North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia Tech.

Xavier Dye Finalist For Community Service Award: Clemson receiver Xavier Dye is one of three finalists for the John Wooten Leadership Award.  Dye is joined by Texas defensive end Sam Acho and Oklahoma defensive back Quinton Carter as finalists.

The award is presented annually to the college and professional football player whose play, community and extracurricular activities best exemplify the leadership and vision of John Wooten, whose NFL career spanned more than 50 yards as a player and executive.

Dye and the other two finalists will be honored Thursday, February 3, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Reunion Hotel in Dallas, TX as part of the Super Bowl XLV festivities.

Brooks, Rumph In Final Four For DL Coaching Award: Clemson defensive line coaches Dan Brooks and Chris Rumph are two of four finalists for FootballScoop.com's National Defensive Line Coach of the Year award. Craig Kuligowski of Missouri and Bill Kirelawich of West Virginia are the other finalists.

Brooks and Rumph have coached a defensive line that has helped the Tigers to a No. 9 national ranking in scoring defense. Clemson is also second in the nation in fewest rushing touchdowns allowed and 15th in fewest first downs allowed.

Brooks and Rumph have had two first-team All-ACC players this year in Da’Quan Bowers and Jarvis Jenkins. Bowers won the Nagurski Award as the national defensive player of the year and the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation's top defensive end, and is a unimous first-team All-American.

Jeff Schaus Named Preseason All-American: Rising senior outfielder Jeff Schaus has been named a preseason second-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

The Naples, FL native is a career .319 hitter in 195 games over the last three seasons. He also has totaled 170 runs, 237 hits, 41 doubles, four triples, 31 homers, 168 RBIs, a .411 on-base percentage, and 22 steals in his career. Schaus is a two-time All-ACC selection and has never missed a game in his college career.

In 2010, Schaus was a second-team All-ACC pick after hitting .320 with 15 homers, 14 doubles, two triples, and 87 RBIs in 70 games. His 87 RBIs tied for second-most in Clemson history and were fourth-most in the nation, including most in the ACC.

Swimmers Sweep Florida Atlantic: The Clemson swimming team took a break from its annual holiday training trip to Florida and swept men's and women's meets against Florida Atlantic. The men defeated the Owls 138-67, while the women were 123-82 winners.

“We finished the 2010 dual meet season with solid wins over FAU,” said coach Chris Ip. “Competing outdoors brings many new challenges. The record low temperatures in Florida hinder quality times, but our athletes found a way to win.”

On the women’s side, Clemson got event victories from Sarah Smith (1000 freestyle), Meg Anderson (50 freestyle), Sarah Bechard, (100 butterfly) and Ali Polhill (100 backstroke). Elizabeth Savage joined Anderson, Bechard and Polhill for a victory in the 200 medley relay. Also, Kelsey Krauss and Kelly Fowler swam to victory with Polhill and Anderson in the 200 freestyle relay.

On the men’s side, Alex Carr and Anderson Sloan contributed with victories in the 1000 freestyle and 100 breaststroke, respectively. Eric Bruck and Chris Dart led all Tigers with two victories each. Bruck claimed the 50 and 100 Freestyles, while Dart came away with wins in the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke. Dart was joined by Mark Schindler, Seth Broster and Myles Oliver in a dominating performance in the 200 medley relay. Harry Foster and Chris Reinke accompanied Bruck and Broster for a win in the 200 Freestyle Relay.

The Tigers will finish their holiday training in Boca Raton on Saturday and will then take a short break before returning to action in a three-team meet against North Carolina and Kentucky on January 8 at McHugh Natatorium.

Former Tiger Pitching Coach Resigns At Alabama: Kyle Bunn, who left the Clemson baseball coaching staff before last year to become pitching coach at Alabama, resigned unexpectedly on Wednesday.

He cited unspecified “personal reasons” for the decision, according to the Tuscaloosa News.