3 Hurricanes On Thorpe Award Watch List
Aug. 10, 2001
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – Senior safety Edward Reed, senior cornerback Mike Rumph and junior cornerback Phillip Buchanon have been named to the preseason “Watch List” of top candidates for the Jim Thorpe Award, the Jim Thorpe Association recently announced.
The Thorpe Award recognizes the top defensive back in college football. The winner of the award, given annually since 1986, will be announced December 6 as part of festivities surrounding ESPN’s College Football Awards Show at Disney World in Orlando. A screening committee will narrow the field to 10 semifinalists, which will be announced during the first week of November. That list will be submitted to a national selection committed consisting of coaches, journalists and former players from around the nation. The three finalists will be announced Nov. 19.
Reed and Rumph are members of the Award’s Preseason Top Ten. Reed joins Florida’s Lito Sheppard and Texas’s Quentin Jammer as the three players receiving the most preseason support by voters. Rumph was among other players rounding out the top 10. Buchanon was among the leaders of the remaining tier of players who have received early support for the honor.
Reed, a consensus first-team All-America as a junior in 2000, returns for his final season at Miami with an impressive resume that is keynoted by his standing of fifth on UM’s career interceptions list with 12 pickoffs. The St. Rose, LA, product had eight thefts in 2000 and displayed impressive instincts by making plays all across the field. Reed had 80 tackles, eight tackles for losses and 23 pass breakups in 2000.
Rumph, one of college football’s rangiest cornerbacks at 6 feet, 2 inches, is widely regarded as one of the top coverage cornerbacks in the game. The Delray Beach, FL, native broke up 10 passes and made 41 tackles last season.
Buchanon is a junior from Fort Myers, FL, who became a starter midway through the 2000 season. He immediately showed striking big-play ability and became a feared defender as the season progressed. Last season, Buchanon returned a fumble for a score against West Virginia and an interception for a TD in the win over Pittsburgh. His interception in the fourth period of the 2001 Nokia Sugar Bowl helped solidify UM’s victory over Florida.
The 2001 Jim Thorpe Award Preseason Watch List:
Edward Reed, MiamiMike Rumph, MiamiPhillip Buchanon, MiamiLito Sheppard, FloridaQuentin Jammer, TexasDennis Weathersby, Oregon StatePig Prather, Mississippi StateRashad Bauman, OregonChris Hope, Florida StateMarques Anderson, UCLASheldon Brown, South CarolinaRyan Clark, LSUKeyou Craver, NebraskaKevin Curtis, Texas TechMike Echols, WisconsinAnthony Floyd, LouisvilleKen Hamlin, ArkansasCedric Henry, Michigan StateTerrence Holt, North Carolina StateTodd Johnson, FloridaCato June, MichiganMichael Lewis, ColoradoAndre Lott, TennesseeRicky Manning, UCLAChris Massey, Oklahoma StateGerome Sapp, Notre DameStuart Schweigert, PurdueDerrick Strait, OklahomaSyniker Taylor, MississippiKevin Thomas, UNLVRamon Walker, PittsburghTim Wansley, GeorgiaRonyell Whitaker, Virginia TechChad Williams, Southern MississippiTank Williams, Stanford
The Hurricanes begin the 2001 season Saturday, September 1, at Penn State in a nationally televised contest (ABC Sports). Kickoff is set for 8 p.m.
For ticket information for Hurricanes football, contact the UM Ticket Office at 1-800-GO-CANES or on the web at www.hurricanesports.com.
