Virginia Football Getting Cavalier Effort from Oak Lawn Native Conrath

When Oak Lawn native Matt Conrath was in high school, he was a football lineman and baseball pitcher.

Now, the only thing he throws around are running backs and quarterbacks in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Conrath, a former football all-stater at St. Rita, was named the ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week on Monday. The award followed on the heels of his career-high nine tackle performance in Virginia’s 24-21 victory over then-12th-ranked Georgia Tech. He also blocked a field goal and was credited with one tackle for loss.

His work in the trenches helped Virginia control the Yellow Jackets’ high-powered offense. The Cavaliers limited Georgia Tech to a season-low 296 yards of total offense and 272 rushing yards.

Conrath is a 6-7, 280-pound senior defensive tackle. Through six games, he ranks as Virginia’s third-leading tackler (32). He has 5.5 tackles for losses totaling 21 yards, two sacks and two pass breakups.

Conrath is the second Virginia defensive lineman to nab ACC weekly honors this season. Cam Johnson won the award following the Cavaliers’ 34-31 victory over Indiana.

In 2008, Conrath was a second-team freshman All-America selection by CollegeFootball News.com. He is the son of Maura and Dave Conrath and is on track to earn his fourth varsity letter with the Cavaliers.

Virginia (4-2) next faces North Carolina State (3-3) at 2:30 p.m. (CDT) Saturday at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville.