Dec. 8, 2016
Vanderbilt linebacker Zach Cunningham has been selected as a Walter Camp First Team All-American.
The recognition, announced Thursday night in conjunction with the Home Depot College Football Awards Show, puts Cunningham, a fourth-year junior from Pinson, Ala., in rare company among all-time Vanderbilt student-athletes. Only two other Commodore football standouts have earned Walter Camp First Team All-America recognition: punter Ricky Anderson in 1984 and end Lynn Bomar in 1923.
The Walter Camp All-America team is one of the college football’s most prestigious honors. Voted on by collegiate head coaches and sports information directors, the Walter Camp team is the nation’s oldest postseason award, dating back to the initial squad being named in 1889.
Cunningham, the Southeastern Conference’s leading tackler, has been blessed with several honors this postseason – and more are expected. In recent days, Cunningham has been named First Team All-America by The Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, USA Today and SBNation, and was selected as a First Team All-SEC linebacker by the league’s 14 head coaches.
Vanderbilt Head Coach Derek Mason was excited to hear of Cunningham’s Walter Camp recognition. “Being voted as Walter Camp First Team All-America is a huge honor for Zach, all of his teammates and the Vanderbilt football program. Zach’s an outstanding young man and a tremendous football player, a guy who cares about his craft and does all the little things that great players do. He’s as good as any player I’ve coached and is very, very deserving of this recognition,” Mason said.
Cunningham has become one of the most talked about defensive player in college football this season on the strength of staggering individual statistics and several incredible plays.
Cunningham’s 119 total tackles, 68 solo stops and four fumble recoveries this year rank among conference and NCAA leaders. Throughout the year, Cunningham has played his best against the highest level, averaging 11.1 tackles and accumulating 11 tackles for loss and four fumble recoveries against SEC opponents.
Beyond the season stats, Cunningham enjoyed several remarkable individual performances. Cunningham was an unanimous national defensive player of the week after a 19-tackle effort in Vanderbilt’s 17-16 upset win at Georgia that he capped with a game-clinching 4th-and-1 tackle late in the contest. Against Auburn, he produced one of the most stunning plays of the college football season, leaping over the Tiger offensive line to block a short field goal. In the regular season finale – a Commodore win over cross-state rival Tennessee – Cunningham had 10 tackles and forced a fumble that resulted in Vanderbilt’s game-winning touchdown.
Besides the accolades from Walter Camp, The Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, SBNation and the SEC, Cunningham recently became the first Commodore finalist for the Butkus Award, given annually to the nation’s top linebacker, and was a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, presented to the nation’s top defensive player.
Cunningham’s 119-tackle total is the most by a Commodore player since current Vanderbilt linebacker coach Chris Marve registered 121 tackles in 2009. Cunningham has 19 tackles more than the next closest SEC defensive player. Cunningham’s 68 unassisted tackles is the most by a Commodore since linebacker Moses Osemwegie registered 83 solo stops in 2005.
Cunningham has matched his single-season high in tackles for loss. Only two former Commodores have produced more tackles for loss than Cunningham in a season – linebacker Jamie Winborn in 1999 and lineman Alan Young in 1993. Cunningham also is just one fumble recovery shy of the Vanderbilt single-season record of five set by Reginald Calvin in 1977.
Cunningham and the 6-6 Commodores will face N.C. State in the Camping World Independence Bowl on Monday, Dec. 26 in Shreveport, La. Bowl tickets are available here.
The full 2016 Walter Camp All-America team is available here.