Several Gators Named Finalists For College Football Awards
Monday, November 23, 2009 | Football
Five members of the top-ranked University of Florida football team were announced as finalists for several national college football awards on Monday. This group includes junior Joe Haden (Fort Washington, Md.) (Jim Thorpe Award – Best Defensive Back), junior Chas Henry (Dallas, Ga.) (Ray Guy Award – Best Punter), junior Aaron Hernandez (Bristol, Conn.) (John Mackey Award – Top Tight End), senior linebacker Brandon Spikes (Shelby, N.C.) (Chuck Bednarik Award - Best Defensive Player) and senior Tim Tebow (Jacksonville , Fla.) (Maxwell Award – Best All-Around Player & Davey O'Brien Award – Best Quarterback).
The winners will be announced during The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards that will air live from Disney's BoardWalk on Thursday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
Haden will compete with Eric Berry (Tennessee) and Earl Thomas (Texas) for the Jim Thorpe Award and joins an illustrious list of Florida finalists that includes Louis Oliver (1988), Lawrence Wright (1996 recipient), Fred Weary (1997), Keiwan Ratliff (2003) and Reggie Nelson (2006). Haden ranks second on the Gators with 57 tackles, 44 of which are solo, and is tied for the top spot on the Orange and Blue with three interceptions. Following UF's 24-14 win over South Carolina, he was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week after collecting 11 tackles, a quarterback sack for a loss of 10 yards, a career-high two forced fumbles and a pass breakup.
Henry was named as finalist for the Ray Guy Award along with Drew Butler (Georgia) and Zoltan Mesko (Michigan). He is averaging 42.8 yards per punt, with 12 kicks inside of the opponents' 20-yard line and a total of six punts 50 yards or longer. Earlier this month, Henry was named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week after having his best outing of the season against Vanderbilt, averaging 52.8 yards on four punts, with a long of 58 yards. Opponents have accumulated just 13 punt return yards this season against Florida. Henry was a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award last season and is the first Gator ever to be among the final three nominees.
Hernandez joins Dorin Dickerson (Pittsburgh) and Dennis Pitta (Brigham Young) as finalists for the 2009 John Mackey Award. He has been instrumental in the Gators' success in 2009 and ranks first on the team in receptions (46) and second in both receiving yards (571) and average yards per game (51.9). One of the best in the SEC, Hernandez ranks first among tight ends in the league in re?ceiving yards (571), average yards per game (51.9), receptions (46) and ranks fourth in average yards per catch (12.4). He had a career-best outing in UF's 23-20 Homecoming win over Arkansas, where he caught seven passes for a then-career-high 92 yards through the air. Hernandez and Ben Troupe (2003) and the only finalists from Florida since the award's inception.
Spikes, Terrence Cody (Alabama) and Ndamukong Suh (Nebraska) are each up for the Chuck Bednarik Award. Named as a finalist for the Butkus Award last week, Spikes earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time in his career following the Gators' 13-3 victory over LSU in October. During the trip to Death Valley, he had a team and season-high 11 tackles, including a career-high three quarterback sacks for a loss of 14 yards in the Gators' road win over fourth-ranked LSU. Spikes' three sacks were the most by a Gator since Derrick Harvey tallied as many versus Ohio State in the 2006 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game. He ranks second on the squad with 50 tackles, with 4.5 tackles for loss, and has returned interceptions for touchdowns in wins over Georgia and FIU.
Tebow joins Case Kennum (Houston) and Colt McCoy (Texas) as finalists for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award®. The three signal-callers were selected from the list of semifinalists, narrowed down from all 120 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) quarterbacks. This season, Tebow has established all-time SEC records for rushing touchdowns and touchdowns scored. He has thrown for 1,945 yards and 14 touchdowns and gained 706 yards on the ground with 11 rushing touchdowns. Having won the Maxwell Award for the past two years, Tebow is vying with Mark Ingram (Alabama) and McCoy for this year's honor.
-UF-
