Florida Gators

CAREER: Appeared in 41 games with 26 starts and was a team captain as a junior and senior...Named Second-Team All-SEC by the league’s coaches as a senior...Collected 149 total tackles (78 solo) in his career...Made 13.5 tackles for a total loss of 51 yards, including 4.5 sacks...Also recovered three fumbles and intercepted two passes in his career...Invited to play in the 2010 East-West Shrine Game in Orlando.

2009: Earned Second-Team All-SEC honors from the league’s coaches...Ranked first among Gator defenders with 78 total tackles (42 solo)...Notched five tackles (three solo) against Alabama in the SEC Championship Game...Tied for the lead with seven tackles (five solo) against Florida State in his final game in The Swamp...Had four solo tackles against FIU...Ranked second among teammates with seven tackles (four solo), including 1.5 for a loss of six and assisted on a QB sack in the win at South Carolina...Intercepted his second career pass and returned it 18 yards against Vanderbilt...Also recorded six tackles against the Commodores...Tallied two tackles (one solo) and notched his first career interception in the fourth quarter against Georgia...Led the team in tackles for the second time this season after collecting a career-high 13 tackles (nine solo), including one for a loss of four yards in the win over Mississippi State...Tallied nine total tackles (one solo), the third-most of any Gator, in the road victory at LSU...Led the squad against Tennessee with a then-career-high 12 tackles (five solo), including three tackles for a loss of five yards, including a QB sack for a loss of two...Also forced his first career fumble...Tied for first among defenders, while leading linebackers, with five total tackles (two solo) in the win over Troy.

2008: Named a team captain for the 2008 season...Started 11 games on the season, one at middle linebacker and 10 at weak-side linebacker...Led the team and set a career-high with seven tackles against Vanderbilt...Recorded five tackles for the second game in a row against Tennessee and recovered his second fumble of the season which led to a Florida field goal...Set a then career-high with five tackles against Miami...Broke his thumb during the Hawaii game and played with a cast for several weeks...Recovered a fumble in the second quarter against Hawaii that led to a Florida touchdown.

2007: Appeared in all 13 games, with one start versus Georgia at weak side linebacker and on kickoff team...Collected 21 total tackles (12 solo), ranking fourth among linebackers...Had four tackles for a total loss of 23 yards on the season...Led all linebackers in sacks with two, making his first career sack for a loss of nine yards versus Auburn...Tallied another sack for a loss of 10 in his first career start versus Georgia...Set a season high with four total tackles (three solo) with one tackle for a loss of three yards versus Troy...Matched that season high of four tackles versus LSU (one solo) and versus Georgia (three solo)...Collected his first career fumble recovery in the victory over Florida Atlantic...Had a stretch of four games during midseason with at least one solo and one assisted tackle in each game, beginning against Auburn and ending against Georgia.

2006: Played in two games...Earned a spot on the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll...Dressed for both the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game and the SEC Championship Game versus Arkansas but did not see action in either contest...Had a then-career-high three tackles, including one for loss, in the win over Western Carolina...Dressed but did not see action in 10 games...Made his Gator debut against UCF and had a solo tackle.

2005: Did not see any game action and was a member of the scout team...Named to the 2005 SEC Freshman Academic Honor Roll.

PREP: Finished his senior season with a team-leading 120 tackles, two interceptions, six sacks and over 20 assists...Four-year starter, three-year letter winner and captain of First Coast football team...The only athlete in Jacksonville to be named to the all-conference team on defense two-consecutive years (2003 and 2004)...Also named to 2003 and 2004 All-City team...2004 Defensive Player of the Year...A Jacksonville Times-Union Super 11, Super 24, and Super 75 choice...Ranked 42nd among linebackers nationally on Scout.com and 10th on Rivals.com...Also played basketball in high school.

PERSONAL: Was born on Feb. 16, 1987...His mother is Gloria Westcott...Has one sister, Meesha...Also considered Auburn during the recruiting process.

MAJOR: Criminology.

CAREER DEFENSIVE STATISTICS

Year    UT-AT  TT        TBL      QBS     FF        FR        PD       INT

2006    3-1       4          1.0       0          0          0          0          0

2007    12-9     21        4.0       2.0       0          1          0          0

2008    20-25   45        3.0       1.0       0          2          0          0

2009    43-36   79        5.5       1.5       1          0          1          2

Totals: 78-71  149     13.5    4.5       1          3          1          2

STAMPER’S CAREER HIGHS

Tackles: 13 (Mississippi State, 2009)

QB Sacks: 1 (4x, last vs. Tennessee, 2009)

Forced Fumbles: 1 (Tennessee, 2009)

Fumble Recoveries: 1 (2x, last vs. Hawaii, 2008)

Interceptions: 1 (2x, last vs. Vanderbilt, 2009)

PROFILE

?          Earned his undergrad degree from UF in December 2009

?          A member of the 2008 UF Football Leadership Committee

What they’re saying about Ryan Stamper:

"He's just as accountable as Brandon Spikes. He's that type of a leader for our team. Spikes gets all the attention but "Stamp" is just a role guy, he'll do whatever you ask him for. But he knows exactly what he's doing." (9/5/09)

Carlos Dunlap, UF Defensive End

"If you were to ask any player on our team who is the one person they respect, then that's going to be Ryan Stamper. He's a young man, they've seen him work so hard as a fifth-year senior, they've seen where he's worked and how far he's gotten. He's special. And (teammates) know, anything that they want, they ask 'Stamp' and 'Stamp's' going to give it to them." (9/5/09)

Charlie Strong, UF Defensive Coordinator

“Every day he is going to give you everything he has got. On the football field, he comes to practice and all those guys know they can count on him, they all know it. Those guys know that whatever he has is theirs-he will give it to them. If they need something, they know Stamper will give it to them.” (7/27/09)

Charlie Strong, UF Defensive Coordinator

“Being selected as a captain was a great feeling and let me know what my teammates really believed in me, their expectations of me that I was a guy who could get it done. I’ve been a pretty good guy on and off the field so I think that’s why I go that honor and I really appreciated it.” (7/27/09)

Ryan Stamper

“Ryan Stamper is the most reliable football player on our team. If you were to take a football player, and you can ask anyone, if you were to take a guy on our football team and say who's a guy that you know you can always count on... Ryan Stamper.” (1/3/09)

Charlie Strong, UF defensive coordinator

About the 2008 National Championship:

“It just says we’re the type of team that sticks together. This whole team is like a family. I love all these guys and I know all these guys love me. I don’t think there will ever be a team that I’m a part of like this one.”

Ryan Stamper

“The thing I like about Stamper is that he is a guy that I can take and really have him play any position because he is smart enough and has enough athletic ability that I can just place him anywhere at the three linebacker positions."

Charlie Strong, UF linebackers coach

"It was very nice. The children really enjoyed it. I think they know how important the Gators are to our whole community. It was fun. Ryan was so nice and responsive to everything we asked him to do. He was just a sweet guy and he brought it down to their level with the things they were interested in. They really loved it.”

"The children know the Gators are important. I think seeing just one player was a very different experience as opposed to the team. It made it more personal to them." (4/12/07)

Margie Donnelly, P.K. Yonge kindergarten teacher on Ryan Stamper and other Gators visiting her class

“Pushing Latsko for playing time is Ryan Stamper, one of the first few freshmen to have the black stripe removed from his helmet, signifying that he’s earned the right to be called a Gator.” (8/21/05)

Robbie Andreu, The Gainesville Sun