Sturgis and Howard Garner All-SEC Honors from AP
Monday, December 5, 2011 | Football
A pair of University of Florida football players, redshirt junior kicker Caleb Sturgis (St. Augustine, Fla.) and redshirt senior defensive lineman Jaye Howard (Apopka, Fla.), have been named to the Associated Press All-SEC team, the organization announced today. Sturgis was named to the First Team, while Howard took home Honorable Mention honors.
Sturgis, a finalist for the Lou Groza Award, takes home First Team AP honors after he led the SEC, and ranked third in the nation, with 21 made field goals (1.9 per game). Additionally, Sturgis connected on all 28 of his extra point attempts and is one of only two kickers in FBS to have made three field goals of 50-or-more yards this season. After his strong regular season campaign, Sturgis now has 45 made field goals in his career, good for second most in UF history. With the honor, Sturgis becomes the first Gator kicker to earn First Team All-SEC honors from the AP since Jeff Chandler in 2001.
Howard was named an Honorable Mention performer after a solid senior season where he led the Gators with two fumble recoveries, including one he returned for a touchdown against Kentucky, and finished second on the team in sacks (4.0) and tackles for loss (8.5). Additionally, Howard, who ranked fourth on the team with 60 total tackles, was named the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week on two separate occasions during the season.
Sturgis, Howard and the rest of the Gators return to action when they face Big Ten foe Ohio State in the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl on Jan. 2, 2012, at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 1 p.m. The Gators will be making their 21st-straight bowl appearance, which ranks first in the SEC and second nationally. This will also be Florida's 18th January Bowl game since 1993, the highest total in the country.
