Vanderbilt’s attempt to return to a bowl game in 2017 just got much tougher as junior linebacker Zach Cunningham has announced he will leave school early and declare for the 2017 NFL Draft.
Cunningham not only excelled by SEC standards but was arguably the nation’s best linebacker in 2016. Following his stellar junior campaign, Cunningham earned consensus All-American status after being honored by the following outlets: American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Associated Press (AP), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Walter Camp Foundation, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports, and The Sporting News.
The Commodore defensive standout made his announcement during the Walter Camp awards banquet Saturday evening, according to Alex Marvez of Sirius XM:
Vanderbilt linebacker Zach Cunningham announced he's turning pro tonight at @WalterCampFF awards banquet @SiriusXMNFL
— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) January 15, 2017
Cunningham led the SEC in tackles in 2016, as he registered an astounding 125 stops last season. For his career, Cunningham racked up 256 tackles – 36 for a loss – in addition to six sacks and six forced fumbles. Cunningham ended the season as a Butkus Award finalist and a Chuck Bednarik Award semifinalist.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
