Tajh Boyd, Andre Ellington Headline 2012 All-ACC Team

Tajh Boyd and Andre Ellington combined for 52 total touchdowns in the Clemson Tigers' attack this season, and they were rewarded for their efforts on Monday.

According to the ACC's website, Boyd and Ellington were two of six Clemson players named to the conference's first team.

Joining Ellington and Boyd on the first team are wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, tackle Brandon Thomas, center Dalton Freeman and tight end Brandon Ford.

It's not hard to tell why the Tigers were the sixth-ranked scoring offense in college football this season. None of that would have been possible without those six guys, but Boyd and Ellington deserve most of the credit.

Boyd paced the attack, throwing for 3,500-plus yards and 34 touchdowns while running for nine more. He did throw 13 interceptions, but his 168.5 passer rating speaks for itself.

He's one of the country's best dual-threat quarterbacks, consistently using his athleticism to keep defenses off-balance.

Ellington didn't put up Boyd's gaudy statistics, but he made Clemson into an all-around balanced offense as opposed to a pass-happy aerial assault. He ran for 1,031 yards and eight touchdowns on just over 200 carries.

Clemson didn't become the nation's 15th-ranked team because of its defense. Scoring points is what this team does well, and the maturation of these two players played a huge role in that.

Other noteworthy names on the all-conference list include Florida State's Bjoern Werner, Tank Carradine and Xavier Rhodes. North Carolina was also fairly represented with Gio Bernard and Jonathan Cooper each earning first-team honors.

The ACC isn't the most respected BCS conference, but it still produces some very talented football players. Clemson and Florida State had enough raw talent to match up with anyone this year, and the players mentioned were a major reason for that.

Here's a complete look at the first team, courtesy of theacc.com:

Offense
QB-Tajh Boyd, Clemson (86)
RB-Giovani Bernard, North Carolina (91)
RB-Andre Ellington, Clemson (77)
WR-DeAndre Hopkins, Clemson (80)
WR-Alex Amidon, Boston College (53)
OT-Oday Aboushi, Virginia (53)
OT-Brandon Thomas, Clemson (51)
OG-Jonathan Cooper, North Carolina (79)
OG-Omoregie Uzzi, Georgia Tech (64)
C-Dalton Freeman, Clemson (78)
TE-Brandon Ford, Clemson (54)
K-Dustin Hopkins, Florida State (79)
Spec.- Giovani Bernard, North Carolina (48)

Defense
DE-Bjoern Werner, Florida State (89)
DE-Cornellius Carradine, Florida State (77)
DT-Joe Vellano, Maryland (80)
DT-Sylvester Williams, North Carolina (63)
LB-Nick Clancy, Boston College (66)
LB-Kevin Reddick, North Carolina (65)
LB-Steve Greer, Virginia (58)
CB-Xavier Rhodes, Florida State (66)
CB-Ross Cockrell, Duke (50)
S-Lamarcus Joyner, Florida State (59)
S-Earl Wolff, NC State (46)
P-Will Monday, Duke (73)