Football's Haden Earns SEC Defensive Player of the Week
Monday, November 3, 2008 | Football
University of Florida sophomore cornerback Joe Haden (Fort Washington, Md.) earned the first Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week honor of his career, as announced by the league on Monday.
During the Gators' 49-10 victory over No. 8 Georgia, Haden led the Orange and Blue with 10 total tackles, including seven solo. With UF holding a 14-3 lead in the third quarter and the Bulldogs driving, Haden intercepted a pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford at the 11-yard line and returned the pick 88 yards down to Georgia's one-yard line. The return was the fourth-longest in school history, matching Anthone Lott's 88-yarder in a 42-18 victory over LSU on Oct. 8, 1994. On the very next play, junior Tim Tebow (Jacksonville , Fla.) plunged into the end zone for his second of three rushing scores in the contest.
A member of The Sporting News' Freshman All-American squad as a rookie in 2007, Haden's 50 tackles this season trail only junior linebacker Brandon Spikes (Shelby, N.C.) (59) for the team lead. No. 4 Florida (7-1, 5-1) will travel to Nashville, Tenn., to face Vanderbilt (5-3, 3-2) on Saturday night. The game, set to kick off at 8 p.m., will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
Florida's 2008 SEC Players of the Week (as of Nov. 3)
Brandon James - Special Teams Player of the Week after the Hawaii game (9/1/08)
Jermaine Cunningham- Defensive Lineman of the Week after the Miami game (9/8/08)
Brandon James - Special Teams Player of the Week after the Tennessee game (9/22/08)
Jeff Demps - Freshman Player of the Week after the Arkansas game (10/6/08)
Maurkice Pouncey - Offensive Lineman of the Week after the Arkansas game (10/6/08)
Brandon Spikes - Defensive Player of the Week after the LSU game (10/13/08)
Jeff Demps – Special Teams Player of the Week after the Kentucky game (10/27/08)
Joe Haden - Defensive Player of the Week after the Georgia game (11/3/08)
-UF-
