University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee Places Seven Players on Coaches' All-SEC Squads
December 05, 2001 | Football
Dec. 5, 2001
Tennessee had seven players earn All-Southeastern Conference honors in a vote by the league's coaches released today by the league office in Birmingham.
Offensive guard Fred Weary, running back Travis Stephens, defensive tackle John Henderson, defensive end Will Overstreet and defensive back Andre Lott all made the coaches' first-team. UT wide receivers Donte' Stallworth and Kelley Washington garnered second-team recognition. Stephens was a unanimous selection by the coaches, while Henderson is a repeat performer on the first-team.
Florida quarterback Rex Grossman, Auburn offensive lineman Kendall Simmons and Arkansas coach Houston Nutt earned the top Southeastern Conference individual honors in the 2001 coaches' awards voting, conducted by the league's coaches.
Grossman was named the SEC Player of the Year on seven of a possible 11 ballots. The sophomore from Bloomington, Ind., led the SEC and the nation in the nation in passing efficiency with a rating of 170.8. Grossman completed 259 of 395 passes for 3,896 yards with 34 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He broke school records for pass completion percentage (65.6), passing yards, total offensive yards and broke the SEC record for total offensive yards per play (9.10).
Simmons was named the winner of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, given annually to the league's top blocker and voted by the SEC's coaches. The senior from Ripley, Miss. was a key performer for the Tigers, who finished as co-champions of the Western Division with a 7-4 overall and 5-3 SEC record.
Nutt was named the SEC Coach of the Year by his peers. Nutt directed the Razorbacks to a 7-4 overall and 4-4 SEC record. The Razorbacks started the season with a 1-3 record and went on to win its next six games.
While the All-SEC squad had 13 first-team seniors, 17 were underclassmen, including eight juniors and four sophomores. Including the second-team, 27 seniors were selected, 23 juniors, four sophomores and one freshman.
Florida led all SEC teams with six players on the first-team followed by Tennessee with five and LSU with four. Eight of the 12 SEC teams had a representative on the first-team All-SEC squad. All 12 SEC teams are represented on either the first or second teams.
Florida, with four players on the second unit, had the most players on the squad with 10. LSU, with four players on the second team, had eight players on both units. Tennessee had seven players on both units.
Ten players on the first unit are repeat performers including Ole Miss offensive lineman Terrence Metcalf, Florida offensive lineman Mike Pearson, Auburn offensive lineman Kendall Simmons, Florida wide receiver Jabar Gaffney, LSU wide receiver Josh Reed, Florida defensive lineman Alex Brown, Tennessee defensive lineman John Henderson, South Carolina outside linebacker Kalimba Edwards, Florida defensive back Lito Sheppard, Georgia defensive back TIm Wansley and Auburn punter Damon Duval.
Florida's Gaffney, South Carolina's Edwards, Florida quarterback Rex Grossman and Tennessee running back Travis Stephens were the only unanimous All-SEC selection.
Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players, thus a unanimous selection earns 11 of 12 first-team votes. The Coaches' All-SEC Freshman Team will be released Dec. 6.
2001 SEC FOOTBALL COACHES' AWARDS
(*-Ties / #-Unanimous Selection / ^-Repeat First-Team Selection)
(Coaches could not vote for themselves or their own players)
| Pos. | Name | School | Class |
| FIRST-TEAM ALL-SEC -- OFFENSE | |||
| TE | Randy McMichael | Georgia | Jr. |
| ^OL | Terrence Metcalf | Ole Miss | Sr. |
| ^OL | Mike Pearson | Florida | Jr. |
| ^OL | Kendall Simmons | Auburn | Sr. |
| OL | Fred Weary | Tennessee | Sr. |
| C | Zac Zedalis | Florida | Sr. |
| ^#WR | Jabar Gaffney | Florida | So. |
| ^WR | Josh Reed | LSU | Jr. |
| #QB | Rex Grossman | Florida | So. |
| #RB | Travis Stephens | Tennessee | Sr. |
| RB | LaBrandon Toefield | LSU | So. |
| PK | Damon Duval | Auburn | Jr. |
| SECOND-TEAM ALL-SEC -- OFFENSE | |||
| TE | Terry Jones, Jr. | Alabama | Sr. |
| OL | Jon Stinchcomb | Georgia | Jr. |
| OL | Melvin Paige | South Carolina | Sr. |
| *OL | Jason Baggett | LSU | Sr. |
| *OL | Shane Hall | South Carolina | Jr. |
| *OL | Pat Green | Vanderbilt | Sr. |
| *C | Ben Claxton | Ole Miss | Jr. |
| *C | Curt McGill | Georgia | Sr. |
| WR | Reche Caldwell | Florida | Jr. |
| *WR | Donte' Stallworth | Tennessee | Jr. |
| *WR | Kelley Washington | Tennessee | Fr. |
| *WR | Dan Stricker | Vanderbilt | Jr. |
| QB | Rohan Davey | LSU | Sr. |
| RB | Lew Thomas | Vanderbilt | Sr. |
| *RB | Joe Gunn | Ole Miss | Sr. |
| *RB | Fred Talley | Arkansas | Jr. |
| PK | Jeff Chandler | Florida | Sr. |
| FIRST-TEAM ALL-SEC -- DEFENSE | |||
| ^DL | Alex Brown | Florida | Sr. |
| ^DL | John Henderson | Tennessee | Sr. |
| DL | Will Overstreet | Tennessee | Sr. |
| ^#OLB | Kalimba Edwards | South Carolina | Sr. |
| OLB | Bradie James | LSU | So. |
| ILB | Trev Faulk | LSU | Jr. |
| ILB | Saleem Rasheed | Alabama | Jr. |
| ^DB | Lito Sheppard | Florida | Jr. |
| ^DB | Tim Wansley | Georgia | Sr. |
| *DB | Syniker Taylor | Ole Miss | Sr. |
| *DB | Andre Lott | Tennessee | Sr. |
| *DB | Sheldon Brown | South Carolina | Sr. |
| ^P | Damon Duval | Auburn | Jr. |
| SECOND-TEAM ALL-SEC -- DEFENSE | |||
| DL | Charles Grant | Georgia | Jr. |
| DL | Kenny King | Alabama | Jr. |
| *DL | Kindal Moorehead | Alabama | Jr. |
| *DL | Jarvis Green | LSU | Sr. |
| OLB | Boss Bailey | Georgia | Jr. |
| OLB | Eddie Strong | Ole Miss | Jr. |
| ILB | Andra Davis | Florida | Sr. |
| ILB | Dontarrious | Thomas Auburn | Sr. |
| DB | Pig Prather | Miss. State | Sr. |
| DB | Todd Johnson | Florida | Jr. |
| DB | Andre Goodman | South Carolina | Sr. |
| DB | Damien James | LSU | Jr. |
| P | Glenn Pakulak | Kentucky | Jr. |
| SEC COACH OF THE YEAR - Houston Nutt, Arkansas SEC PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Rex Grossman, QB, Florida JACOBS BLOCKING TROPHY - Kendall Simmons, OL, Auburn | |||
