Florida junior safety Matt Elam (Palm
Beach Gardens, Fla.) and sophomore punter Kyle Christy (Brownsburg,
Ind.) were named to the Walter Camp All America Second Team Defense Thursday.
The last Gator punter to earn the honor was Chas Henry in 2010, and the last
time a UF safety was in 2006 when Reggie Nelson made first-team defense.
Elam
has now garnered three All-American honors this season, after being named to the
Sporting News’ All-America Team earlier today. He tied for 21st in the nation
and third in the SEC in interceptions with four in 2012. His 65 total tackles
ranks 41st in the country, as well. The junior has compiled 10.0 TFL, 1.0 sack,
four pass breakups, and forced one fumble on the season. Elam was named
first-team All-SEC by the Associated Press and coaches earlier in the week.
This
is Christy’s second All-American honor, as he was a third-team defense
selection by CBSSports.com. Christy has proven himself as one of the top
punters in the country this season as he leads the SEC and is sixth in the
nation in punting with an average of 46.10 yards per punt on 62 attempts.
Christy turned in his best performance of the season against South Carolina when
he punted seven times for 380 yards to set the UF record with an average of
54.3 yards, the second-best singe game performance this season. He also
recorded a season-long 62-yard punt against the Gamecocks. He is also a
finalist for the Ray Guy Award, whose winner will be announced tonight on the
Home Depot Awards Show.
