Football's Harvin, Cunningham Earn SEC Honors
Monday, November 17, 2008 | Football
University of Florida junior running back/wide receiver Percy Harvin (Virginia Beach, Va.) has been named Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Week and defensive end Jermaine Cunningham (Stone Mountain, Ga.) earned SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors, the league announced on Monday. This is the second time that Cunningham has been recognized, receiving the same honor following his performance versus Miami.
Harvin rushed for a career-high 167 yards and tied a career high with two rushing touchdowns in UF's 56-6 win over No. 24 South Carolina. His 167 rushing yards versus the Gamecocks were the most by any wide receiver in the nation this year against a top-25 program. Harvin's performance on the ground against USC propelled him to the third spot in the UF record books for rushing yards in a season by a wide receiver with 476 in 2008, and now owns the top three spots for that record. Harvin scored on an career-long 80 yard rush on the first play of the second half and now has scored a touchdown in the past 12 games he has played in, tying Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree for the longest streak in the country.
Harvin leads the Gators with 476 rushing yards in 2008 on 52 carries and seven touchdowns. Four of his seven receiving touchdowns have come in his last 14 catches. He leads the SEC in scoring with 9.3 points per game.
Cunningham led the Gator defense, which held South Carolina to only 53 yards rushing and did not allow the Gamecocks into Florida territory until just over 11 minutes to play in the second quarter. He was first on the squad with eight total tackles (six solo) and added 0.5 sacks for a loss of two yards, two tackles for a loss of five yards and one forced fumble. Cunningham rallied a Gator defense which caused South Carolina to have eight three-and-outs after entering the game with only 15 on the season. He leads all defensive linemen with 41 total tackles on the year and owns seven tackles for a loss, four pass breakups and a team-leading two forced fumbles.
The Gators (9-1, 7-1) play their final home game of the season on Saturday when they take on The Citadel. The game, which kicks off at 1:30 p.m., will be made available live via pay-per-view (PPV) to viewers of participating cable systems, satellite systems and commercial establishments throughout Florida.
Florida's 2008 SEC Players of the Week (as of Nov. 17)
Brandon James – Special Teams Player of the Week after Hawaii game (9/1/08)
Jermaine Cunningham– Defensive Lineman of the Week after Miami game (9/8/08)
Brandon James – Special Teams Player of the Week after Tennessee game (9/22/08)
Jeffrey Demps – Freshman Player of the Week after Arkansas game (10/6/08)
Maurkice Pouncey – Offensive Lineman of the Week after Arkansas game (10/6/08)
Brandon Spikes - Defensive Player of the Week after LSU game (10/13/08)
Jeff Demps – Special Teams Player of the Week after Kentucky game (10/27/08)
Joe Haden - Defensive Player of the Week after Georgia game (11/3/08)
Tim Tebow – Offensive Player of the Week after Vanderbilt game (11/10/08)
Percy Harvin – Offensive Player of the Week after South Carolina game (11/17/08)
Jermaine Cunningham – Defensive Lineman of the Week after South Carolina game (11/17/08)
-UF-
