McKinnie & Reed Are Finalists For Football News Player of the Year Honors

Nov. 20, 2001

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CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – Miami senior free safety Edward Reed (St. Rose, La.) and senior offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie (Woodbury, Pa.) were named as finalists for the Football News Offensive or Defensive Player of the Year awards on Tuesday. Miami is the only school to have finalists on both sides of the ball.

Reed leads the nation in interceptions per game at 0.78 with 7 interceptions and is the unquestioned leader on a Hurricanes defense that leads the nation in turnover margin (+1.89 per game) and scoring defense (8.0 ppg) while ranking third in pass efficiency defense (81.99 rating), and pass defense (138.3 ypg). Reed was a consensus first-team All-America selection in 2000 and he is tied the Miami career interceptions record with 19 in his UM career. Reed also owns the UM record for career interception return yards with 378. Reed, who also has blocked a punt this season, has blocked 5 kicks in his career and his turnovers produced have led to 107 points over the span of his career.

McKinnie was a semifinalist for the Lombardi Award and is among the favorites for the Outland Trophy. Widely considered the finest offensive lineman in college football, McKinnie was a first-team All-American by Football News in 2000, in addition to a first-team All-BIG EAST selection last year. Last week, he held Syracuse’s Dwight Freeney (a finalist for FN’s Defensive Player of the Year) without a sack or a tackle in a head-to-head matchup. Thus far this season, McKinnie has maintained a flawless record of pass protection, not allowing a quarterback sack. He has started each of the 21 games since coming to Miami and hasn’t allowed a sack in his college career. McKinnie was named a Mid-Season First-Team All-American in 2001 by ABC Sports, CBS Sportsline and CNNSI.com.

Winners of the Football News Players of the Year will be announced on Dec. 12.

2001 Football News Defensive Player of the Year Finalists	2001 Football News Offensive Player of the Year FinalistsDE Dwight Freeney, Syracuse				         QB Rex Grossman, FloridaLB E.J. Henderson, Maryland		                           RB Luke Staley, Brigham YoungS Edward Reed, Miami					OT Bryant McKinnie, MiamiLB Robert Thomas, UCLA					QB David Carr, Fresno StateS Roy Williams, Oklahoma					QB Eric Croush, Nebraska

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