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Five Commodores Named All-SEC by Coaches 12/6/2005
Coaches Name Cutler, Osemwegie, Bennett to First Team All-SEC Squad; Bennett, who established a new SEC freshman record with 79 receptions, joined another talented freshman, Sydney Rice of South Carolina, as the coaches’ wide receiver representatives to the first team all-conference squad. Bennett was voted Associated Press Second Team All-SEC on Monday. Two other Commodores — senior tight end Dustin Dunning and junior offensive tackle Brian Stamper — joined Bennett, Cutler and Osemwegie with all-conference recognition. Dunning and Stamper were named to the Coaches’ All-SEC second team unit. The league office is expected to announce the coaches’ picks for individual honors on Wednesday, then release the Coaches’ All-Freshman Team on Thursday. Cutler and Bennett appear to be serious candidates for Coaches’ Offensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors, respectively. Bennett, safety Reshard Langford and kicker/punter Bryant Hahnfeldt were under consideration for all-freshman honors. The five Commodores named Tuesday is the most Vanderbilt players ever recognized in a single season since the SEC coaches began their ballot in 1984. Vanderbilt has enjoyed four recipients only twice, in 1984 and 2000. “I’m proud of all five of these young men,” Vanderbilt Head Coach Bobby Johnson said. “Jay and Moses have meant so much to our program as leaders, both on and off the field. Earl just kept getting better with each game and was a remarkable player by the end of the season. Dustin was one of our most consistent players, and really became a very good player as a senior. The recognition for Brian is very important because he showed he’s one of the league’s top linemen.” Cutler became just the second Commodore quarterback, joining Kurt Page in 1984, to garner All-SEC recognition by the coaches. Osemwegie is one of four repeat first-team selections, and becomes just the third Commodore ever to earn first-team recognition for two straight years. The other two, Jamie Duncan in 1996-97 and Jamie Winborn in 1999-2000, were also standout linebackers. Cutler, named the Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year on Monday, became the first Vanderbilt signal caller to claim first team recognition from both the coaches and media in the same year. Named to the prestigious Senior Bowl last week, Cutler is the career leader in virtually every Vanderbilt passing category, and comes off a senior campaign where he led the SEC in passing yards, touchdown passes and total offense. Bennett set a Vanderbilt record — and matched a SEC mark — with five touchdown receptions against Kentucky. In the last four weeks, he posted remarkable numbers — 49 catches, 545 receiving yards, 9 TDs — against SEC foes South Carolina, Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee. Osemwegie put together another sensational season, concluding his career as the SEC’s active leader with 391 total tackles. He was the league’s second leading tackler in 2005, averaging 10.7 tackles per game. Osemwegie also displayed remarkable consistency, posting at least eight tackles in 10 of the Commodores’ 11 games. Dunning became one of Cutler most dependable third-down options, setting career highs with 35 receptions and 389 receiving yards. Stamper, an early season SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week recipient, graded out as the Commodores’ top linemen while squaring off with many of the league’s top defensive ends. First Team Second Team Coaches’ All-SEC Defense First Team Second Team First Team Second Team |
