Isaiah Shirley Named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week
9/15/2025 2:00:00 PM | Football
RALEIGH, N.C. – On the heels of being the highest-graded defensive player in all of college football this past week, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), NC State defensive lineman Isaiah Shirley has been named the ACC defensive lineman of the week, the league announced Monday.
Shirley helped lead the Wolfpack to a win over Wake Forest, totaling five tackles and a 41-yard interception returned for a touchdown. That play changed the momentum of the game for the Pack, which had started the game down 14-0.
It was the first interception returned for a touchdown by a Wolfpack defensive lineman since Alim McNeill in 2020. Along with McNeill, Shirley joins Alan Halloway, Darian Roseboro, Pharaoh McKever, and Willie Young as the only defensive linemen in program history to return an interception for a touchdown.
In his first career start at the position, Shirley played 27 snaps in the victory over the Demon Deacons and was part of a Wolfpack defensive effort that held Wake Forest to zero second-half points and just three first downs.
It is the first ACC honor for a Wolfpack player this season and the first since CJ Bailey took home ACC Rookie of the Week in October of last year. The last Wolfpack defensive lineman to be recognized as ACC Player of the Week was Daniel Joseph in November of 2020.
