Florida Gators

CAREER: Saw action in 45 games at Florida, with 38 career starts… Recorded 152 tackles, 80 solo and 72 assisted in his career at UF… Additionally tallied 34.0 tackles for loss, 19.5 sacks, seven pass deflections, five forced fumbles, one interception and a fumble recovery during his tenure with the Gators… Tied for 10th in the UF record books for career sacks (19.5) with teammate Carlos Dunlap.

HONORS: Named a 2009 AP second-team All-SEC selection, as well as second-team All-SEC by the league’s head coaches, while being tabbed first-team All-SEC by Phil Steele… A 2009 Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award Watch List candidate… A 2008 preseason candidate for the Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year and Bronko Nagurski awards… A team captain of the 2008 squad… Garnered AP second-team All-SEC honors and Phil Steele first-team All-SEC accolades his junior season.

2009: Played and started in 12 games for the Gators in 2009, missing the Charleston Southern game, the first of the season, and the FIU game due to injury… Notched 34 tackles, including 21 solo and 13 assisted… Led the Florida defense in TFL (12.0) and ranked second in quarterback sacks (7.0)… Picked up one solo tackle as the Gators defeated Cincinnati, 51-24, in the 2010 Allstate Sugar Bowl… Collected two tackles, including a half a tackle for a loss of three yards, against Alabama in the 2009 SEC Championship Game… Grabbed one tackle in his final game in The Swamp as the Gators defeated FSU, 37-10… Dressed for UF’s win over FIU, but an injury held him out… Played a stellar game at South Carolina, racking up two QB sacks for a loss of nine yards, two quarterback hurries and six tackles (five solo) against the Gamecocks… Notched one tackle and a quarterback hurry in the 27-3 win over Vanderbilt… Collected four tackles, including one QB sack for a loss of nine yards, 2.5 tackles for a loss of 11 yards, one forced fumble and a QB hurry in the 41-17 win over Georgia in Jacksonville… Played at a high level in Florida’s win over Mississippi State in Starkville, tallying three tackles, a quarterback sack for a loss of seven yards and a QB hurry in the win… Had a stellar outing as the Gators defeated Arkansas on Homecoming, picking up six total tackles, including two quarterback sacks for a loss of 10 yards and four tackles for a loss of 12

yards… The four tackles for a loss were the most by a Gator in a single game since Brandon Spikes had four against Auburn on Sept. 29, 2007… Came up with his first quarterback sack of the season when he took down LSU’s Jordan Jefferson in the 13-3 victory at Tiger Stadium… Notched three tackles in UF’s victory over Kentucky on the road… Came up with one tackle in UF’s win over Tennessee in the SEC opener at home… Had a stellar game in UF’s winning efforts against Troy, recording one forced fumble, a fumble recovery, a tackle for loss and four total tackles as the Gators held Troy to just 73 yards rushing… Dressed for the first game of the season against Charleston Southern, but did not get in on the game action.

2008: Racked up 52 tackles, including 23 solo and 29 assisted… Ranked second on the team in sacks and tackles for loss, tallying six sacks and 10.0 tackles for loss during the season… Forced three fumbles, the first of his career, and deflected four opponent passes… Finished the season ranked fifth in total tackles on the team… Ranked sixth in the SEC for sacks and fourth in forced fumbles… Notched a key quarterback sack in UF’s victory over Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, helping lead UF to its eighth SEC Title… Also registered one tackle in UF’s win over Oklahoma in the 2009 FedEx BCS National Championship Game… Blocked Florida’s first extra point since 2006 in the win over Florida State… Led Florida in tackles (8) against South Carolina and was named the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week for his effort against the Gamecocks… Graded out a champion against LSU and Miami… Named UF’s Defensive Player of the Game and SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week for his role in the win over the Hurricanes.

2007: First-year starter who was one of the top defensive ends on the squad and one of the elite linemen in the league… Started all 13 contests… Led all Gator defensive linemen with 64 tackles, 34 solo and 30 assisted… That tally registered as the third-highest total among all linemen in the SEC… Added 12 tackles for a loss of 58 yards and racked up 6.5 sacks for a loss of 40 yards… Tied for seventh in the conference for sacks and averaged a sack 0.54 times a game… Picked off one pass, deflected three passes and had one quarterback hurry during the season… Recorded a team season-high 17 tackles at No. 1 LSU in his best outing… That tally represented the fourth-highest tackle total by any SEC defensive player in a game that season… It was also the most tackles by any SEC defensive lineman in a game that year… The 17 tackles represented the most by a Gator since Channing Crowder had 18 at Mississippi State in 2004… Followed up that performance with seven tackles and 2.5 sacks for a loss of 17 yards at Kentucky… Made two key tackles for losses, including one sack, in UF’s win over Florida State… Had five tackles, including one tackle for a loss of three yards, while hauling in his first career interception against Vanderbilt… Recorded five tackles, including two tackles for a loss of two yards, against Auburn… Collected four tackles, including one for a loss of nine yards, against Tennessee… Had three solo tackles, including two tackles for a loss of seven yards and one sack for a loss of five yards, against Ole Miss… In his first career start, tallied four tackles, including one tackle for a loss of four yards, versus Western Kentucky.

2006: Saw action in seven contests… Registered a solo tackle in the win over Western Carolina… Earned time on special teams in the Vanderbilt game… Member of the scout team during Auburn week… Saw time on the Gators’ punt return squad in the win over LSU… Played at defensive end in UF’s 26-7 win over Kentucky… Saw action at defensive end in the UCF game… Recorded a solo tackle in the Southern Miss game, his first career action.

PREP: Recorded 25 sacks as a senior at Stephenson High School… Was a team captain and helped lead his team to the state semifinals as a senior… Was averaging as many as 15 tackles and three sacks per game at one point during his senior season… Sealed the win for Stephenson in its 6-0 victory over archrival Southwest DeKalb in 2005 with a pair of quarterback hurries on fourth downs in the fourth quarter… Posted over 20 sacks as a junior at linebacker.

PERSONAL: Born Jermaine Alexander Alfred Cunningham on Aug. 24, 1988, in Bronx, N.Y.… Son of George and Joan Cunningham… Has two brothers, Devin (20) and Kevin (19)… Chose Florida because of the opportunities and “it felt like home.”

MAJOR: Sociology.

CAREER DEFENSIVE STATISTICS

Year             UT-AT     TT     TBL   QBS        FF     FR     PD    INT

2006             2-0          2       0.0    0.0                   0       0       0          0

2007             34-30      64     12     6.5                   0       0       3          1

2008             23-29      52     10.0 6.0                   3       0       4          0

2009             21-13      34     12.0 7.0                   2       1       0          0

Totals:          80-72     152 34.0 19.5        5       1       7       1

CUNNINGHAM’S CAREER HIGHS

Tackles: 17 (LSU, 2007)

QB Sacks: 2.5 (Kentucky, 2007)

Forced Fumbles: 1 (4x, last Georgia, 2009)

Fumble Recoveries: 1 (Troy, 2009)

Interceptions: 1 (Vanderbilt, 2007)

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT JERMAINE CUNNINGHAM

"While (DE Carlos) Dunlap seems to get all the pub on Florida's defensive line, No. 49 -- (DE Jermaine) Cunningham -- is really a great player. He's a tremendous athlete that gets after it every play. And he's a smart player, a guy that just doesn't make mistakes when you face him. Both of those guys are tremendous, but Cunningham is their top guy." (8/19/09)

Thomas Welch, Vanderbilt right tackle

“Jermaine Cunningham is a guy that started all last year. I love him. I am excited about him. He has a chance to be a special player.” (2/29/08)
Dan McCarney, UF Defensive Line Coach

"It's always good getting a sack, taking the pressure off our defensive backs. It works hand in hand. We helped our DB's, they help us." (10/20/07)

Jermaine Cunningham

"As coach says, when you practice good, you're going to play good. He's been doing that, so he's playing better. Every day in practice he's working hard, listening to coach. He's just been competing, trying to make plays. Now he's stepping up." (10/10/07)

Derrick Harvey, former UF Defensive End

"Being behind [Jarvis] Moss, who is such a great player, I was learning the game from him. He helped me a lot. If there was stuff I needed help on or didn't know, he'd show me how to do it, so I got better." (4/10/07)

Jermaine Cunningham

“Jermaine’s coming on. He’s going to be a great player here. He’s a good person, too.” (9/22/06)

Urban Meyer, UF Head Coach