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Class:
Senior |
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Hometown:
Miami, FL |
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High School:
Columbus |
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Height / Weight:
6-5 / 298 |
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Position:
Offensive Tackle |
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2001 HONORS
First-Team All-American (FWAA, CNNSI.com)
First-Team All-BIG EAST (Coaches)
Second-Team All-American (The Sporting News, ABC Sports Online, Sportsline.com)
Third-Team All-American (Football News)
2001 (SENIOR): An outstanding scholar-athlete who was the mainstay of Miami’s outstanding offensive line from 1998-2001…set a Miami record for career starts with his 49th start in the Rose Bowl against Nebraska…developed into one of the team’s emotional leaders and a stabilizing influence in times of need this season…an outstanding tackle who was overshadowed by Miami’s Outland Trophy winner Bryant McKinnie, but was just as deserving of accolades…named a First-Team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America and CNNSI.com…a First-Team All-BIG EAST selection by the league’s head coaches…a Second-Team All-America selection by The Sporting News, Sportsline.com, and ABC Sports Online…allowed only two quarterback sacks in his college career (49 games) and none in 2001…paced a Miami offense that was the nation’s most balanced, averaging 454.8 yards per game (eighth in the nation) and 43.2 points per game (3rd nationally)…keyed an offense that averaged 5.3 yards per rushing attempt and scored 25 rushing touchdowns in the regular season…mainstay of an offensive line that allowed just three quarterback sacks in the regular season…2001 recipient of the HealthSouth Draddy Award, known as the “Academic Heisman,” the ultimate honor a college football scholar-athlete can achieve, that provides the winner with a $25,000 scholarship towards postgraduate study…epitomized the term “scholar-athlete”…a Dean’s List member who was a three-time Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Team member…was a four-time BIG EAST Academic All-Conference selection and was an Iron Arrow inductee in 2000 (the highest academic honor bestowed to any UM student or staff member)…received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in May of 2001…was the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year in 1998 – the first recipient of the award to earn All-Conference Academic honors in the same season…was a finalist for Sporting News Radio’s Socrates Award, an honor recognition outstanding academic and athletic performance and superior community service…excellent blocker who has great size and quickness…strong finisher with excellent punch and extension in run blocking…extremely intelligent and self-motivated…excelled in pass protection where he uses long arms to lock out effectively…was active in UM’s “Join A Team, Not a Gang” community service program; to encourage area youth to seek positive alternatives to gangs…joined the Hurricanes as a walk-on…was awarded an athletic scholarship prior to sophomore season…came to Miami on an academic scholarship after graduating high school with a 4.0 grade point average…outstanding student who scored 1,320 out of 1,600 on SAT and turned down academic scholarships to Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth and Cornell in order to walk on at Miami…member of the academic honors society Omicron Delta Kappa…is the only offensive lineman in BIG EAST history to earn Rookie of the Year honors (1998)…attending UM’s graduate school, pursuing an MBA.
2000 (JUNIOR): Solidified his status as one of college football’s outstanding linemen by earning first-team All-American from the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and second-team All-American by College Football News…played a key role in the rise of Miami’s offensive line into a team strength and one of college football’s premier units…helped lead the Miami offense to one of the most successful seasons ever as the Hurricanes led the BIG EAST in scoring (42.6 ppg), pass efficiency (152.8 rating) and total offense (460.8 ypg)…major force in an offensive line that was to blame for just three sacks in a whopping 340 pass attempts during the regular season…exhibited dramatic improvement as a run blocker, assisting a Miami running game that averaged 194.8 yards per game after a slow start…helped Hurricanes’ running back James Jackson become only the fourth running back in UM history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season (1,006)…earned BIG EAST Academic All-Star status for the third consecutive season.
1999 (SOPHOMORE): Started every game at right tackle…was a BIG EAST Academic All-Star and candidate for GTE Academic All-America honors…gave up just one sack all season and recorded numerous “Metrorails”…also placed among the top three lineman in pancakes.
1998 (FRESHMAN): Emerged in preseason camp to start every game at right tackle…named BIG EAST Rookie of the Year, becoming the first offensive lineman in league history to win the honor…also earned freshman All-American accolades…became just the third freshman in the 1990’s to start along UM’s offensive front, joining former All-Americans K.C. Jones and Richard Mercier…teamed with Martin Bibla in the season-opener to become the first pair of freshmen to start along the Hurricane offensive line in 20 seasons…named to the BIG EAST Football All-Academic Team…became the first Rookie of the Year in league history to earn All-Academic recognition…was awarded a football scholarship in August of 1998.
1997 (REDSHIRT): Spent the season as a member of the Hurricane scout team.
HIGH SCHOOL: Columbus…played both offensive and defensive tackle…team captain and honorable mention All-Dade selection as a senior…offensive line MVP…named Columbus’ Student Athlete of the Year following his senior year…recorded 46 tackles including two sacks, three caused fumbles and one fumble recovery at defensive tackle as a senior…also lettered in track where he recorded personal bests of 149-0 in the discus and 47-0 in the shot put…was named National Young Leader and given the President’s Education Award as a senior…coached in football by Dennis Lavelle.
PERSONAL: Born 9/7/79…full name is Joaquin Antonio Gonzalez…chose to attend Miami over Louisville, Central Florida, Wake Forest and Oklahoma State…son of Joaquin and Maria Gonzalez.
