Conrath, Greer and Minnifield Honored by Touchdown Club of Richmond
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia defensive tackle Matt Conrath, linebacker Steve Greer and cornerback Chase Minnifield were honored by the Touchdown Club of Richmond, Wednesday evening, at the Dudley Award banquet. The Touchdown Club of Richmond honored Conrath as its defensive lineman of the year, Greer as its linebacker of the year and Minnifield as its defensive back of the year.
The event held at the Hilton Richmond Hotel marked the third-straight season a Cavalier has earned a postseason honor from the Touchdown Club of Richmond. Former Cavalier and current Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle Nate Collins was the defensive lineman of the year in 2009 and current wide receiver Kris Burd was the offensive end of the year a season ago.
Conrath (Oak Lawn, Ill.), who was named a first-team All-ACC pick last week, was named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week twice, following wins over then-No. 12 Georgia Tech and Duke. Along with Minnifield and Greer, he helped anchor a defense that is No. 31 in the nation and No. 3 in the ACC, helping UVa improve from No. 78 and No. 10 respectively in 2010. Conrath led UVa with three blocked field goals, all in separate games and all UVa wins. Conrath is third on the team and No. 3 in the ACC among defensive linemen with 64 tackles.
Greer (Solon, Ohio), an All-ACC second-team honoree, leads UVa and is seventh in the ACC with 103 tackles. Greer is the first UVa linebacker to be named to either the first or second team since Clint Sintim also took home second team honors in 2008. Greer was named ACC Linebacker of the Week following his two sack performance at then-No. 23 Florida State and has led UVa in tackles in 8-of-12 games.
Minnifield (Lexington, Ky.), who missed the event because he was in Orlando accepting his Pop Warner National College Football Award, earned his second career All-ACC first-team honor in 2011. Minnifield is No. 2 nationally among active career leaders with 13 interceptions. He is a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award and a semifinalist for the Thorpe Award & Lott IMPACT Trophy. Minnifield was named the Thorpe Award Defensive Back of the Week after helping limit then-No. 12 Georgia Tech to 24 yards passing and its lowest rushing total at the time (272).
The Touchdown Club of Richmond honored Virginia Tech’s David Wilson as the offensive back of the year, the Hookies’ Blake DeChristopher as the offensive lineman of the year, Richmond’s Tre Gray as the offensive end of the year and Jonathan Grimes of William & Mary as the special teams player of the year.