Barnes, Weitz Collect ACC Weekly Awards
CLEMSON, S.C. — The Atlantic Coast Conference announced today that Clemson safety Khalil Barnes (Defensive Back of the Week) and placekicker Jonathan Weitz (Special Teams Player of the Week) have both earned ACC Player of the Week honors in their respective categories for their performances in Clemson’s 16-7 rivalry win against South Carolina on Saturday.
The pair of selections pushes Clemson’s total number of ACC weekly honors this season to 13. Clemson has garnered a total of 578 ACC weekly honors since 1968.
The selections are the first in the careers of both Barnes and Weitz. Barnes becomes Clemson's second Defensive Back of the Week selection this year and its second in the last two weeks, joining Nate Wiggins' accolade for his performance against North Carolina a week earlier. Weitz becomes Clemson's second Special Teams Player of the Week this season following punter Aidan Swanson's honor for his work against Notre Dame in early November.
Against South Carolina, Barnes posted four tackles, two pass breakups, a 42-yard fumble return touchdown and one interception. Barnes recorded the fumble return and the interception on back-to-back offensive plays by South Carolina on the Gamecocks' second and third plays of the game, becoming the first Clemson player to record a takeaway on consecutive plays from scrimmage since Brian Dawkins against Duke in 1995.
Barnes became the first Clemson player with a fumble recovery and an interception in the same game since Dorian O’Daniel at Virginia Tech in 2017. It marked the first time a Clemson player had two takeaways in a game since Andrew Booth Jr. recorded two interceptions on the same field in a win against South Carolina in 2021. Barnes became only the second FBS player — and the only FBS freshman — to record three or more interceptions, multiple forced fumbles and a scoop-and-score this season.
Weitz finished 3-for-3 on field goals to account for the final margin of victory in Clemson's nine-point win over its rival. He converted field goal attempts of 50, 49 and 42 yards after entering the evening with a career long of 41. His three field goals of 40-plus yards tied a school record, shared by Bob Paulling (vs. North Carolina in 1982), Nelson Welch (vs. NC State in 1991), Mark Buchholz (vs. Wake Forest in 2007) and Chandler Catanzaro (vs. Troy in 2011).
Weitz' career-long 50-yard field goal in the first quarter was Clemson’s longest field goal since a 52-yarder by B.T. Potter in the 2022 ACC Championship Game. The 50-yarder came in the same stadium as the first 50-yard field goal in Clemson history, a 52-yarder by Eddie Seigler against South Carolina in 1971.