Miami Hurricanes Football: Duke Johnson Wins Brian Piccolo Award

The Hurricanes football team had a very disappointing season, but the one great thing to see was getting to watch Duke Johnson bounce back from injury.

On Thursday, Duke Johnson was awarded the Brian Piccolo award which is given to the most courageous player in the ACC. We all know this is definitely well-deserved for the all-time leading rusher in Miami history.

Congratulations, Duke!

Here’s the full press release:

"GREENSBORO, N.C. – Miami running back Duke Johnson has been named the recipient of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s 2014 Brian Piccolo Award, ACC Commissioner John Swofford announced Thursday.The Piccolo Award has been given annually since 1970 in memory of the late Brian Piccolo to the “most courageous” football player in the ACC. Piccolo was the ACC Athlete of the Year in 1965 and played for the Chicago Bears before his career was cut short when he was stricken with cancer. His courageous fight against that disease was an inspiration to the Bears and the entire football community.The 2014 Piccolo Award will be presented at the ACC’s Night of Legends event, which will be held Friday (5:30 p.m.) at the Charlotte Convention Center as part of the festivities held around the Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game.Johnson suffered a fractured fibula and a dislocated ankle in the fourth quarter of Miami’s game against Florida State in November of 2013. He underwent surgery two days later to repair his ankle, prematurely ending a stellar sophomore season in which he rushed for 920 yards in less than eight full games.The 5-foot-9, 206-pound Miami native returned at full speed this fall, posting six consecutive games of 100 or more rushing yards during one stretch and ranking among the nation’s rushing leaders throughout the season. He finished the regular season ranked second among ACC rushers with 1,520 yards in 12 games and moved to the top of Miami’s all-time rushing list with 3,387 career yards.“To come back from this type of injury is in and of itself a great accomplishment,” Miami head coach Al Golden said.  “To come back bigger, faster, stronger and better is truly remarkable.  We could not be more proud of Duke Johnson. The sacrifice and determination he exhibited during his nine month rehabilitation exemplifies why he is considered one of the game’s elite running backs and truly deserving of this award.”A semifinalist for the Doak Walker and Walter Camp Player of the Year Awards, Johnson was named the ACC Offensive Back of the Week on Oct. 27, after he rushed for a career-high 249 yards on 29 carries to lead the Hurricanes to a 30-6 victory over Virginia Tech on ESPN’s Thursday Night Football. Johnson became the first Miami running back since Willis McGahee in 2002 to surpass 200 yards rushing in a game, and just the fourth player in school history overall. Johnson’s 249 yards rushing were the second-most ever in a single game by a Hurricane.Johnson becomes the fourth Miami student-athlete to receive the Brian Piccolo Award and the first since defensive end Shayon Green in 2012.ACC Brian Piccolo Award Winners1970 Paul Miller, QB, North Carolina1971…. Jim Webster, LB, North Carolina1972…. Mark Johnson, QB, Duke1973…. Al Neville, QB, Maryland1974…. David Visaggio, DG,  Maryland1975…. Scott Gardner, QB, Virginia1976…. Jeff Green, DE, Duke1977…. Ralph Stringer, DB, NC State1978…. Rex Varn, DB, Clemson1979…. not available1980…. Jack Cain, DB,Clemson1981…. Aaron Stewart, DB, Duke1982…. Kenny Duckett, WR, Wake Forest1983…. John Piedmonte, OLB,Wake Forest1984…. J.D. Maarleveld, T,  Maryland1985…. Danny Burmeister, DB, N. Carolina1986…. Ray Williams, WR, Clemson1987…. no recipient1988…. Jerry Mays, TB, Georgia Tech1989…. Michael Anderson, RB, Maryland1990…. Marc Mays, WR, Duke1991…. Scott Adell, T,  NC State1992…. Dan Footman, DE, Florida State………………………. Randy Cuthbert, TB,  Duke1993…. Scott Youmans, DL, Duke1994…. Chris Harrison, T, Virginia1995…. Warren Forney, DT, Clemson1996…. John Lewis, RB, Wake Forest1997…. Sam Cowart, LB, Florida State1998…. Anthony Poindexter, DB, Virginia……………….. Corey Simon, DT, Florida State1999…. Chris Weinke, QB,  Florida State2000…. Ed Wilder, FB, Georgia Tech2001…. Matt Crawford, T, Maryland2002…. Anquan Boldin, WR, Florida State2003…. Kevin Bailey, OL, Virginia2004…. Frank Gore, RB, Miami2005…. Ryan Best, S, Virginia2006…. Glenn Sharpe, Miami2007…. Matt Robinson, DE, Wake Forest2008…. Robert Quinn, DE, North Carolina2009…. Toney Baker, RB, NC State2010…. Mark Herzlich, LB, Boston College,…………………………… Nate Irving, LB, NC State2011…. Giovani Bernard, RB, North Carolina2012…. Shayon Green, DE, Miami…………… Chris Thompson, RB, Florida State2013…. Robert Godhigh, RB, Georgia Tech2014…. Duke Johnson, RB, Miami"