Dec. 9, 2008

University of South Carolina linebacker Eric Norwood and tight end Jared Cook were named first-team All-SEC by the league’s 12 coaches, the Southeastern Conference office announced today. Gamecock linebacker Jasper Brinkley and safety Emanuel Cook earned second team honors, according to the league’s coaches.

Norwood, a 6-1, 253-pound junior from Acworth, Ga., was also named to the Associated Press first-team All-SEC squad on Monday. He 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., earns first-team All-SEC honors by the coaches after being named to the second-team by the Associated Press on Monday. He 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., was also a second-team All-SEC selection by the Associated Press, as announced on Monday. He 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.

Brinkley, a 6-2, 269-pound senior from Thomson, Ga., ranks fifth on the squad with 54 tackles, including 5.0 tackles for loss. He led the team in tackles on two occasions, against Georgia and at Kentucky. He has recorded 182 tackles in his two-plus seasons at South Carolina, including 132 solo stops. He was a 2008 preseason first team all-league selection after earning first-team all-conference recognition in 2006.