Aug. 25, 2016
Birmingham, Ala. – Vanderbilt juniors Oren Burks, Zach Cunningham and Ralph Webb have been named to the 2016 Coaches All-Southeastern Conference preseason football team, the league announced today.
Cunningham, an inside linebacker from Pinson, Ala., and Webb, a running back from Gainesville, Fla., were voted to the coaches’ second-team preseason squad. Burks, playing the linebacker-safety “Star” position, has placed on the coaches’ third team.
The Commodores open the season next Thursday, Sept. 1, by hosting SEC East opponent South Carolina in Vanderbilt Stadium. Tickets remain available for the game, which kicks off at 7 p.m. CT.
For Cunningham, the coaches’ second-team recognition comes after a superb 2015 season when he was selected as a first team All-SEC recipient by both head coaches and an Associated Press media panel.
The preseason recognition for Cunningham is the latest for a defender who has been named to watch lists for the Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Dick Butkus Award and Lombardi Trophy. He has also been named to preseason All-America teams by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele.
As a first-year starter in 2015, Cunningham topped the Commodores and ranked among the conference’s elite defenders with 69 solo tackles, 103 total tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. Cunningham’s tackle for loss total was the most by a Vanderbilt player since linebacker Jamie Winborn registered a team-record 23 stops in 1999.
Webb has topped the Commodores in rushing the last two years, and ranks fourth among active SEC backs with 2,059 career rushing yards. In 2015, he rushed for 1,152 yards, the second highest single-season total in team history, on a school-record 277 carries. In his last five games against league competition a year ago, Webb averaged 111.6 rushing yards, and capped the season with a 149-yard performance at Tennessee.
Webb holds freshman and sophomore team rushing records for the Commodores, and ranks No. 8 all-time on the team’s rushing charts.
Burks, named earlier this summer as a candidate for the Allstate-American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team and Wuerffel Trophy, is coming off his finest season and could have even more impact this year after moving into the team’s `Star’ hybrid role.
In 2015, Burks contributed 58 total tackles, six defensed passes and a team-high three interceptions. He also returned one of the interceptions for a touchdown in Vanderbilt’s victory over Kentucky.
Several other Commodore players garnered votes for the coaches’ all-conference team, including offensive tackle Will Holden, wide receiver Trent Sherfield, defensive lineman Nifae Lealao and Adam Butler, linebacker Nigel Bowden, cornerback Torren McGaster and placekicker Tommy Openshaw.
The full coaches’ preseason All-SEC squad can be seen here.
Besides South Carolina, the Commodores also host Middle Tennessee on Saturday, Sept. 10, Florida on Saturday, Oct. 1, Tennessee State for homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 22, Ole Miss on Saturday, Nov. 19, and Tennessee on Saturday, Nov. 26.
Season tickets remain available, starting at $135 for end-zone locations and only $250 for premium sideline seats in Vanderbilt Stadium. Tickets can be purchased online or via the phone at (615) 322-GOLD (4653).
The Vanderbilt Ticket Office also is open during regular hours on weekends in McGugin Athletics Center, 2601 Jess Neely Drive, Nashville.