Jermaine Cunningham: Taking Charge
Tuesday, November 6, 2007 | Football
By: Meghan Gannon, UF Sports Information
When Jermaine Cunningham had 17 tackles at top-ranked LSU, the eyes of the college football world began to take notice. With that total, Cunningham nearly doubled his total season output. A year ago, the sophomore was the understudy of one of the best defensive ends in the country in Jarvis Moss, a first-round pick of the Denver Broncos. Now, he is leading a Gator defense of his own.
Cunningham has always been one to shy away from attention, but with the numbers that he is beginning to put up this season, attention is inevitable for the young sophomore. It hasn't taken long for him to adjust to the University of Florida and the way football is played here. He'll be the first to say that when he first arrived on campus last year, sacking the quarterback wasn't quite what it was like at Stephenson High School in Stone Mountain, Ga.
“When I was in high school, none of the tackles were 6-7, 330, like they are here,” Cunningham said.
Cunningham had 27 sacks during an outstanding senior season at Stephenson. Although he has realized that the level of play from high school to Division I football is drastically different, so is his approach and the help he receives from his teammates.
“When I first got here, it was a big adjustment,” said Cunningham. “But with the weight program and getting stronger, it makes it a little easier getting used to it.”
Cunningham not only has the strength program at Florida coordinated by Mickey Marotti to help him develop, last season he had one of the best teachers to study under in Moss. Moss took Cunningham, who was undersized and underdeveloped as a freshman, as his own. He offered support, pointers and technique advice.
“Those are some big shoes to fill. I'm just trying to get better and help the team,” said Cunningham.
For Cunningham, however, it's not a matter of filling Moss' shoes, but more about developing his own name and his own game. A year ago, he was a player that the coaching staff saw some improvement in and played in enough games that he was unable to redshirt the season. The opportunity to play was something that Cunningham relished at the time. Now, a year later and a starter for the Gators at defensive end, he looks back on his time as Moss' backup fondly. He knew that last season there was a learning curve, but he also knew that his time was coming and all he had to do was wait and work hard.
“Being behind Moss, who is such a great player, I was learning the game from him,” said Cunningham. “He always helped me. If there was stuff I needed help on or didn't know, he'd show me how to do it so I got better.”
The things he got better on were the basics. He improved the things that every football player needs to be successful on any given Saturday.
“I think that I'm better on my fundamentals and being able to read blocks and keys better,” he explained.
With 17 tackles during UF's visit to Baton Rouge, the most since 2004, when Channing Crowder had 18 against Mississippi State, Cunningham has begun to show how much of an improvement he has made. A week later, at Kentucky, he totaled a career-high 2.5 sacks, upping his season total to 4.5 as the Gators knocked off the eighth-ranked Wildcats. His teammates are quickly taking notice of how solid Cunningham has become. The 'wow' factor of the defensive linemen has hit an all new high in recent weeks as well.
“That's what everyone was saying,” explained freshman cornerback Joe Haden. “Cunningham has just been in the right place at the right time.”
As a handful of new players on a defense that returned just two starters from last season's National Championship team, Cunningham has quickly become a person whom the Gators rely upon. He has quietly done his job and without knowing, demanded the respect of opposing offensive linemen and is now seen as a true threat to the other quarterback.
After studying Moss for a year, Cunningham turned his attention to fellow Gator Derrick Harvey and the example that he sets.
“Every day, ever since the spring, I looked up to him and he probably doesn't even know,” said Cunningham.
Harvey knows and was quick to point out the improvement that Cunningham has made and the effort that he has put into becoming a better football player.
“As coach says, when you practice well, you're going to play well,” Harvey said of Cunningham. “He's been doing that, so he's playing better. Every day in practice he's working hard, listening to Coach. He's just been competing, trying to make plays. Now he's stepping up.”
Cunningham's efforts are not lost on head coach Urban Meyer either. “(Greg) Mattison has a lot of confidence when he's all over the field,” said Meyer. “I've never heard of a defensive end with 17 tackles. He's getting better.
Despite being just a sophomore, the future is bright for Cunningham. He has made it clear that he understands his effort today will be shown in his results tomorrow. In the years to come, Cunningham will be the one lending advice to the newest set of Gators, remembering what he has learned since day one.
-UF-
