Bryant McKinnie Named College Football Player of the Year

Dec. 4, 2001

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – University of Miami senior offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie has been named College Football’s National Player of the Year by CNNSI.com as he led a quartet of Hurricanes who earned First-Team All-America honors, the news service announced Tuesday. Senior offensive tackle Joaquin Gonzalez, senior free safety Edward Reed, junior placekicker Todd Sievers and junior tight end Jeremy Shockey also made the service’s First-Team All-America squad.

McKinnie, a finalist for the Outland Trophy and a First-Team All-America selection by Football News and the Football Writers Association of America already this season, nabbed National Player of the Year honors from CNNSI.com after a dominant season in which he held opposing defensive linemen without a quarterback sack throughout the season. In fact, the Woodbury, Pa., native has never allowed a quarterback sack in his college career that includes 23 games as a Hurricane.

Since McKinnie’s arrival in the starting lineup, the former Lackawanna (Pa.) Junior College star has helped Miami to a 22-1 record, two BIG EAST Conference titles, a win in the 2001 Nokia Sugar Bowl, a No. 2 final ranking in 2000, the top spot in the rankings this season, and a berth in the Bowl Championship Series Championship Game in the Rose Bowl upcoming on Jan. 3, 2002.

McKinnie has anchored an offensive line dubbed by many as college football’s finest and a unit that has spearheaded an offensive attack that allowed a national-low four quarterback sacks this season. Miami has set school records for scoring each of the last two seasons, scoring 469 points in 2000 and 475 in 2001. The Hurricanes averaged more than 200 yards rushing and passing this season, averaging 204.6 yards on the ground and 250.2 yards per game passing.

Gonzalez, who already has earned First-Team acclaim from the Football Writers Association for the second consecutive season, was a semifinalist for the Lombardi Award this season and will set a new Miami record for career starts at the Rose Bowl with his 49th. The Miami native, one of the school’s most accomplished scholar-athletes, has allowed only two sacks in his collegiate career and has been a stalwart for the Hurricanes through a four-season span in which Miami has won 40 of 48 games overall, including two BIG EAST titles. Three Miami running backs (Edgerrin James in 1998, James Jackson in 2000 and Clinton Portis in 2001) have surpassed 1,000 yards rushing behind the blocking of Gonzalez, who also is a recipient of a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award.

Reed was a consensus First-Team All-America in 2000 and is well on his way to equaling that feat this season after already earning honors from Football News and the Football Writers Association. The senior free safety has produced blocked kicks and turnovers that have led to 109 points for the Hurricanes during his Miami career and leads the nation in interceptions per game at 0.82 with 9 pickoffs this season. Reed broke the UM career interceptions with 21 and holds the school career mark for interception return yards with 390.

Shockey, a junior from Ada, Okla., received his first First-Team All-America honor with this award. He has established himself as one of the few tight ends in college football who is consistently first on his quarterback’s list of available receivers. In his second season with the Hurricanes, Shockey has become one of the more prolific Hurricanes at that position since the 1979 season. Shockey’s 10 career touchdowns rank him third ahead of current UM offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski (1988-90). He led Miami in receptions this season with 40 for 519 yards and seven touchdowns. Shockey is a finalist for the John Mackey Award recognizing college football’s finest tight end, the winner of which will be announced on Wednesday.

Also receiving First-Team All-America honors for the first time is placekicker Todd Sievers. The junior from Ankeny, Iowa, has developed into one of the nation’s finest placekickers this season. Sievers, a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, set new UM single-season records for total points (119), kicking points (119), and field goals in a season (21). Sievers was successful on 21-of-26 field goal attempts in 2001 and exceeded his previous UM career-long kick of 43 yards four times. Sievers also set BIG EAST records for field goals made in a game (4, at Penn State, at Boston College, and at Virginia Tech), and kicking point scored (119) and tied the league mark for point-after attempts in a season (58).

Three other Hurricanes – junior quarterback Ken Dorsey, junior defensive tackle William Joseph and junior cornerback/punt returner Phillip Buchanon were honorable mention honorees by CNNSI.com.

2001 CNNSI.com ALL-AMERICA TEAM

FIRST TEAMPlayer of the year: Bryant McKinnie, MiamiCoach of the year: Ralph Friedgen, MarylandQB Rex Grossman, Florida DL Julius Peppers, North CarolinaRB Travis Stephens, Tennessee DL Wendell Bryant, WisconsinRB Luke Staley, BYU DL Alex Brown, FloridaWR Jabar Gaffney, Florida DL Dwight Freeney, SyracuseWR Josh Reed, LSU LB Rocky Calmus, OklahomaOL Bryant McKinnie, Miami LB Andra Davis, FloridaOL Toniu Fonoti, Nebraska LB E.J. Henderson, MarylandOL Frank Romero, Oklahoma DB Roy Williams, OklahomaOL Joaquin Gonzalez, Miami DB Edward Reed, MiamiOL Andre Gurode, Colorado DB Keyou Craver, NebraskaTE Jeremy Shockey, Miami DB Quentin Jammer, TexasK Todd Sievers, Miami KR Herb Haygood, Michigan StateP Travis Dorsch, Purdue PR Roman Hollowell, Colorado

Honorable Mention:QB — David Carr, Fresno State, Eric Crouch, Nebraska, Ken Dorsey, Miami, Joey Harrington, Oregon, Antwaan Randle El, IndianaRB — Anthony Davis, Wisconsin, William Green, Boston College, Chester Taylor, ToledoWR — Lee Evans, Wisconsin, Marquise Walker, MichiganTE — Daniel Graham, ColoradoOL — Seth McKinney, Texas A&M, Mike Pearson, Florida, Victor Rogers, ColoradoDL — Alan Harper, Fresno State, William Joseph, Miami, Larry Tripplett, WashingtonLB — Levar Fisher, N.C. State, Larry Foote, Michigan, Ben Taylor, Virginia TechDB — Mike Doss, Ohio State, Michael Lewis, Colorado, Lamont Thompson, Washington State, Eugene Wilson, IllinoisK — Asen Asparuhov, Fresno State, Jeff Chandler, Florida, Travis Dorsch, Purdue, Damon Duval, AuburnP — Jeff Ferguson, OklahomaKR — Aaron Lockett, Kansas State, Chris Massey, Oklahoma StatePR — Phillip Buchanon, Miami

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