UF's Joe Haden Named AFCA All-American
Thursday, December 3, 2009 | Football
Florida junior cornerback Joe Haden (Ft. Washington, Md.) was chosen to the 2009 AFCA Coaches' All-America Team announced on Thursday by the American Football Coaches Association. A finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award that will be presented next Thursday, Dec. 10, at The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards, Haden is the first Gator cornerback to secure first-team All-America honors since Keiwan Ratliff in 2003.
Competing with Eric Berry (Tennessee) and Earl Thomas (Texas) for the Thorpe Award, Haden joined an illustrious list of Florida finalists that includes Louis Oliver (1988), Lawrence Wright (1996 recipient), Fred Weary (1997), Ratliff (2003) and Reggie Nelson (2006). Haden ranks second on the Gators with 59 tackles, 46 of which are solo, and leads the Orange and Blue with four 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.
The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best — the coaches themselves.
2009 AFCA Coaches' All-America Team
Offense
Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
WR Golden Tate 5-11 195 Jr. Notre Dame Charlie Weis Hendersonville, Tenn. (Pope John Paul II)
WR Mardy Gilyard 6-1 187 Sr. Cincinnati Brian Kelly Bunnell, Fla. (Flagler Palm Coast)
TE Dennis Pitta 6-5 247 Sr. BYU Bronco Mendenhall Moorpark, Calif. (Moorpark)
OL Mike Johnson 6-6 305 Sr. Alabama Nick Saban Pensacola, Fla. (Pine Crest)
OL Russell Okung 6-5 300 Sr. Oklahoma St. Mike Gundy Houston, Texas (Bush)
C Chris Hall 6-4 295 Sr. Texas Mack Brown Irving, Texas (Irving)
OL Trent Williams 6-5 315 Sr. Oklahoma Bob Stoops Longview, Texas (Longview)
OL Mike Iupati 6-6 330 Sr. Idaho Robb Akey Anaheim, Caiif. (Western)
QB Colt McCoy 6-2 210 Sr. Texas Mack Brown Tuscola, Texas (Jim Ned)
RB Mark Ingram 5-10 215 So. Alabama Nick Saban Flint, Mich. (Southwestern)
RB Toby Gerhart 6-1 235 Sr. Stanford Jim Harbaugh Norco, Calif. (Norco)
Defense
Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
DL Ndamukong Suh 6-4 300 Sr. Nebraska Bo Pelini Portland, Ore. (Grant)
DL Jerry Hughes 6-3 257 Sr. TCU Gary Patterson Sugar Land, Texas (Austin)
DL Jared Odrick 6-5 296 Sr. Penn St. Joe Paterno Lebanon, Pa. (Lebanon)
DL Derrick Morgan 6-4 272 Jr. Georgia Tech Paul Johnson Coatesville, Pa. (Coatesville)
DL Brian Price 6-2 300 Jr. UCLA Rick Neuheisel Los Angeles, Calif. (Crenshaw)
LB Rolando McClain 6-4 258 Jr. Alabama Nick Saban Decatur, Ala. (Decatur)
LB Greg Jones 6-1 228 Jr. Michigan St. Mark Dantonio Cincinnati, Ohio (Moeller)
DB Eric Berry* 5-11 195 Jr. Tennessee Lane Kiffin Fairburn, Ga. (Creekside)
DB Joe Haden 5-11 190 Jr. FLORIDA Urban Meyer Fort Washington, Md. (Friendly)
DB Javier Arenas 5-9 198 Sr. Alabama Nick Saban Tampa, Fla. (Robinson)
DB Earl Thomas 5-10 197 So. Texas Mack Brown Orange, Texas (West Orange Stark)
Specialists
Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
P Drew Butler 6-2 203 So. Georgia Mark Richt Duluth, Ga. (Peachtree Ridge)
PK Kai Forbath 6-0 192 Jr. UCLA Rick Neuheisel Pacific Palisades, Calif. (Notre Dame)
AP C.J. Spiller 5-11 195 Sr. Clemson Dabo Swinney Lake Butler, Fla. (Union County)
*-2008 All-American
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