Dec. 8, 2008

University of South Carolina linebacker Eric Norwood was named first-team All-SEC by the Associated Press, it was announced today. Gamecock tight end Jared Cook and safety Emanuel Cook earned second team honors, while wide receiver Kenny McKinley and placekicker Ryan Succop were named honorable mention All-SEC.

Norwood, a 6-1, 253-pound junior from Acworth, Ga. made the conversion from defensive end to linebacker this season. He is second on the team with 66 tackles, while leading the team with 9.0 sacks, 13.5 tackles for loss and nine quarterback hurries. He is tied for the SEC lead in sacks and is fourth in tackles for loss. Norwood is Carolina’s all-time leader with 42.0 career tackles for loss and is third on the all-time list in sacks with 22.0. He is the SEC active leader in both sacks and tackles for loss. He was named first-team All-SEC by the league’s coaches and second-team by the Associated Press following the 2007 season.

Jared Cook, a 6-5, 240-pound junior from Suwanee, Ga., was a semifinalist for the Mackey Award, which goes to the nation’s top tight end. Cook is second on the team with 35 receptions and 550 receiving yards while leading the team with a 15.7 yard per reception average. He has the two longest receptions of the season by a Gamecock – a 66-yard touchdown pass against Arkansas and a 63-yard reception at Ole Miss and had a career-best day at Vanderbilt when he caught eight passes for 111 yards.

Emanuel Cook, a 5-10, 203-pound junior from Riviera Beach, Fla. leads the Gamecock defense in tackles with 87, 21 more than any other player on the squad. His 7.2 tackles per game ranks in a tie for ninth in the SEC. A league-leading 62 of his 87 stops (71 percent) have been solo tackles. He led the team in tackles in six of 12 games, including a career-high 14 stops in the win over Ole Miss. Cook was a second-team All-SEC selection by both the coaches and the Associated Press in 2007.

McKinley, a 6-0, 187-pound senior from Mableton, Ga., leads the team with 48 receptions for 556 yards despite playing in just nine games due to a hamstring injury. He leads the SEC with 5.33 receptions per game and is fifth with 61.8 yards per game. He ranks first in career receptions (201) and in career receiving yards (2,695) and is tied for second in receiving touchdowns (19) in Carolina history. He has caught a pass in a school-record 42 straight games and is the SEC active leader in both career receptions and receiving yards. He was a consensus first-team All-SEC selection in 2007.

Succop a 6-3, 221-pound senior from Hickory, N.C., is 19-for-28 in field goal attempts in 2008. Both marks lead the SEC. He leads the SEC in field goals per game (1.58) and is fourth in field goal percentage (67.9). He booted a career-high four field goals in the win over UAB, earning SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. He boomed a 54-yard field goal, the second-longest of his career and tying for the third-longest in school history, against Arkansas. He was a second-team all-SEC selection in 2006 and earned honorable mention honors in 2007.