Position Linebacker High school Pinson (AL) Valley Weight 96 kg | Class Junior Place of birth Pinson, Alabama Height 1.93 m | |
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Date of birth (1994-12-12) December 12, 1994 (age 22) College Vanderbilt University (2013–2016) Current team Vanderbilt Commodores football (#41 / Linebacker) Parents Fred Cunningham, Sophie Cunningham Similar Ralph Webb, Reuben Foster, Derek Barnett, Jarrad Davis, Derek Mason | ||
Zach cunningham best lb in the country vanderbilt highlights
Zachary Daniel Cunningham (born December 12, 1994) is an American football linebacker. He played college football at Vanderbilt.
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The film room ep 30 zach cunningham scouting report
Early years
Cunningham attended Pinson Valley High School in Birmingham, Alabama. During his high school career he had 448 tackles, including 194 as a senior. He committed to Vanderbilt University to play college football.
College career
After not playing during his first year at Vanderbilt in 2013, Cunningham played in 11 games as a redshirt freshman in 2014, recording 67 tackles and 1.5 sacks. As a redshirt sophomore in 2015, he played in all 12 games with nine starts. He finished the year with 103 tackles and 4.5 sacks and was named first team All-SEC.
In December 2016, Cunningham became the first unanimous All-American in Vanderbilt history, when he was named first team defensive All-American by the American Football Coaches Association.
Cunningham was the seventh Commodore to earn the consensus All-American honor for Vanderbilt. The last consensus All-American for Vanderbilt was punter Ricky Anderson in 1984.
Cunningham was named first team All-American by over a dozen national foundations and publications including CBS Sports, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Phil Steele and SBNation. Cunningham is the first Vanderbilt Commodore to be named first-team All-American by ESPN.
Cunningham was a finalist for the Butkus Award as the nation's top overall linebacker, Cunningham was also recognized as the SEC's Most Valuable Lineman/Linebacker by the Birmingham Monday Morning Quarterback Club on Tuesday December 13, 2016 one day after his birthday.
Cunningham had an SEC-best 119 total tackles, which ranked 11th overall nationally. He also registered 16.5 tackles for loss, finishing second in the SEC and 22nd nationally, along with four fumble recoveries, which tied for second nationally, just one behind the leader. Cunningham played his best games against SEC opponents, as he posted 89 total tackles, 51 solo tackles and 12 tackles for loss against SEC foes. He also had some of the best individual plays in those games, including a big fourth down tackle to end Georgia's game ending drive in the Commodores' win in Athens. Cunningham made another huge, nationally-recognized play in the fourth quarter of Vanderbilt's game against Auburn, when he perfectly timed a leap over Auburn's left guard as the ball was snapped, allowing him to arrive in the backfield at the same time as the ball, which Cunningham then blocked, to preserve Vanderbilt's chances to win, with less than 2:00 minutes remaining in the contest. to block a field goal. A late interception by Auburn preserved the Tigers' victory, but Cunningham's leap was named Top Ten Play of the Day by ESPN.
Cunningham also made big plays agents Florida, Ole Miss and Tennessee helping the Commodores to SEC wins against UGA, Ole Miss and UTjr, leading them to a 6-6 season record, and securing Vanderbilt's first postseason bowl game since 2013.