Dec. 5, 2011
Three Vanderbilt standouts – running back Zac Stacy, linebacker Chris Marve and cornerback Casey Hayward – were named to the Associated Press All-Southeastern Conference Team by a panel of sportswriters Monday.
Stacy, a junior from Centreville, Ala., was named to the second-team All-SEC offense. Marve, a senior linebacker from Memphis, Tenn., and Hayward, a senior cornerback from Perry, Ga., were listed to the second-team defense.
Two other Vanderbilt seniors, offensive tackle Kyle Fischer and defensive end Tim Fugger, received honorable mention consideration from the AP writers.
Stacy, Marve and Hayward played vital roles as the Commodores enjoyed one of the nation’s top turnarounds. Coming off a pair of 2-10 seasons, the Commodores guided by first-year Head Coach James Franklin, featured the SEC’s most improved offense and defense en route to a 6-6 regular season record. On Sunday, the team accepted a bid to play the Cincinnati Bearcats in the 53rd AutoZone Liberty Bowl Dec. 31 in Memphis.
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| Hayward, Marve, Stacy |
“Zac, Chris and Casey are very deserving of first team All-SEC recognition,” Franklin said. “They were extremely productive on the field and also provided excellent leadership to our squad.
“I’m also happy that Kyle and Tim were mentioned because they enjoyed great senior seasons. I believe we have other standouts that played like All-SEC candidates as well,” the head coach added.
Stacy enjoyed perhaps the finest offensive season ever by a Commodore running back. The junior set career marks in almost every statistical category, and broke a number of Vanderbilt records. He broke the team’s single-season record with 1,136 rushing yards and scored 13 rushing touchdowns, the most ever by a Vanderbilt running back.
Stacy ranked third in the SEC in rushing and scored more rushing touchdowns than any SEC player except Alabama’s Trent Richardson, who was selected as the AP’s Offensive Player of the Year. Stacy’s 6.2-yards per carry average also ranked first among the SEC’s top five rushing leaders.
For Hayward and Marve, co-defensive captains for the Commodores this season, it marked their second consecutive year to earn All-SEC status from the writers.
Hayward ranked third in the SEC with five interceptions and second in the league with 14 passes defended. He enters the Liberty Bowl with 13 career interceptions, just picks behind the school record set by Leonard Coleman (1980-83).
Listed as a midseason All-America by both SI.com and CBSSports.com, Hayward finished the regular season with 40 solo tackles, 54 total tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss. Hayward is also 10 tackles shy of 200 for his career.
Marve topped the Commodores this season with 84 tackles, ranking 13th in the SEC. He tallied eight or more tackles on five occasions, including an 11-tackle, one-sack outing against Army. He added seven tackles for loss and one interception.
Marve ranks ninth all-time at Vanderbilt with 390 career tackles and eighth with 28.0 career tackles for loss.
Fischer served as an offensive co-captain and played virtually every snap for the Commodores at right tackle. He was among the team’s most consistent blockers and concluded the regular season by earning SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors for his play in Vanderbilt’s bowl-securing sixth win at Wake Forest.
Fugger paced the defense with 12.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks on the season, ranking eighth in the SEC in both categories. He also added 29 total tackles, recovered one fumble, and ranked seventh in the conference with three forced fumbles.