Jan. 15, 2017
Linebacker Zach Cunningham, arguably the most decorated player in team football history, intends to enter the 2017 National Football League Draft.
Cunningham confirmed his intentions Sunday after attending the Walter Camp Weekend activity in New Haven, Conn., a three-day celebration of the organization’s 2016 All-America team.
Cunningham, a fourth-year junior from Pinson Valley (Ala.) High School, is projected among the top inside linebackers available in the NFL Draft, which is scheduled April 27-29.
Cunningham is coming off a banner 2016 campaign when he became the first Commodore ever to capture First Team All-America honors from every leading national outlet.
Describing Cunningham among the finest to wear the Commodore Black & Gold, Vanderbilt Head Coach Derek Mason praised the defensive standout for his all-around contributions to the program.
“We could not be more proud of Zach Cunningham and what he has accomplished as a student-athlete at Vanderbilt,” Mason said. “Zach leaves West End among the most decorated players in Commodore football history, and he works as hard as any student-athlete I have ever coached. Zach’s been a great pleasure to coach and a tremendous teammate.
“Vanderbilt is indebted to Zach for his impact on our football program, on and off the field. Zach will always be a Vanderbilt Man, and we wish him years of success in the NFL,” Mason added.
This year, Cunningham ranked among national leaders in several defensive statistical categories. He topped the Southeastern Conference with 125 total tackles and four fumble recoveries, ranked second with 71 unassisted tackles, and third with 16.5 tackles for loss. He was a two-time recipient of SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors and was unanimously named National Defensive Player of the Week after a remarkable 19-tackle effort in Vanderbilt’s 17-16 win at Georgia.
After helping Vanderbilt to the 2016 Camping World Independence Bowl, Cunningham earned consensus First Team All-America honors from the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Associated Press (AP), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and the Walter Camp Foundation. He also was recognized by ESPN, Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports, The Sporting News and USA Today.
Cunningham and Ricky Anderson, a punter in the mid-1980s, are the only Commodores to earn first-team recognition in the same season from AFCA, AP, FWAA and Walter Camp. The other Commodores to claim consensus All-America status besides Cunningham and Anderson are punter Jim Arnold (1982), lineman George Deiderich (1958), center Peter Gracey (1932), end Henry Wakefield (1924) and end Lynn Bomar (1923).
Cunningham enjoyed several remarkable individual performances and stunning individual plays beyond the 2016 statistics. Cunningham’s stellar effort against Georgia was capped with a game-clinching 4th-and-1 tackle late in the contest. Later in the year, he produced one of the most stunning plays of the college football season at Auburn, leaping over the Tiger offensive line to block a short field goal. In the regular season finale, Cunningham had 10 tackles and forced a fumble that resulted in Vanderbilt’s game-winning touchdown against nationally ranked Tennessee.
Cunningham’s unassisted stops and total tackles this year are the most by a Commodore defender in a dozen years. Cunningham’s tackles for loss total is tied for third highest single-season total in modern team history.
For his career, Cunningham amassed 295 total tackles, 177 unassisted stops, 39.5 tackles for loss, six quarterback sacks, seven forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries.