Football Places Four on Academic All-District Team
Thursday, November 15, 2001 | Football
To be eligible a player must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 in the classroom and be a starter or key reserve on the field. The players selected are now eligible for the national Academic All-America team, which will be announced on December 13th.
This year marks the 50th year of the Academic All-America program, as the inaugural team was announced on December 6, 1952. Since that time, more than 12,000 students have been named Academic All-America team members at colleges and universities at all levels for every recognized NCAA sport. The 22 members of the original team, which included football players only, will be honored with a series of events throughout the current academic year. The program's popularity resulted in a significant expansion for the current academic year, as 816 student-athletes --- a 19 percent increase over the previous highest number -- will be selected to 12 different Academic All-America teams during the 2001-02 academic season.
Berlin, a sophomore sociology major, has appeared in seven of UF’s nine games this year and has completed 36-of-60 passes for 483 yards with nine TDs with a efficiency rating of 173.79, second-best in the SEC. He has thrown for a TD pass in all seven games in which he has appeared. Despite his limited playing time off of the bench, Berlin has thrown as many or more TD passes (nine) than 34 Division I-A schools have this season.
Manuel, a senior graduate-level criminology major, has made 33 career starts and this year has started all nine games for Florida, ranking fifth on the squad with his 49 tackles. He led UF with 118 tackles in 1999 and was second on the team with 83 last year. Manuel has been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and was a member of the 2000 SEC Good Works Team for his community service work. He was named one of UF’s outstanding male leaders at last December’s commencement exercises when he received his undergraduate degree.
Pearson, a junior business administration major, has started each of the last 31 games at left offensive tackle and is considered one of the finest offensive linemen in the nation. He has seen action on 596 plays this season, ranking first for Florida amongst al offensive players. Named to the SEC’s Academic Honor Roll in 1999 and 2000, Pearson was a second-team All-American and first-team All-SEC pick in 2000.
Scott, a sophomore Industrial and Systems Engineering major, has had a solid season for the Gators on the defensive line, starting eight games at defensive tackle. Scott has made 40 tackles on the year, second amongst defensive linemen, while his 10.5 tackles for loss and 22.5 “Big Plays” rank second on the nationally ranked Florida defensive unit.
