Pitt's Sheard Named Finalist For Hendricks Award
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - It's been quite a week for Pitt Panthers defensive end Jabaal Sheard.
On Monday, he was named to the AFCA All-America Team and on Wednesday he learned that he was a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award.
The award has been handed out annually since 2002 and Sheard is one of six finalists.
So far this season, Sheard has registered 45 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 9.0 sacks, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
Sheard has been a force in the Big East Conference and is at or near the top of the list in several statistical categories.
Currently he leads the conference in forced fumbles, is second in tackles for loss, and third in sacks.
He will have at least one more game to improve upon those numbers as the Panthers head to Cincinnati to take on the Bearcats on Saturday.
A win would make the Panthers eligible for a higher tier Big East bowl game and could potentially keep their BCS hopes alive.
Read the full press release from Pitt below:
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Pitt's Jabaal Sheard Named Finalist For Ted Hendricks Defensive End Of The Year Award
PITTSBURGH—For the second time this week, Pitt senior defensive end Jabaal Sheard has received a prestigious national recognition.
Two days after being named to the AFCA All-America Team, Sheard received news that he is a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award. He is one of six players selected as a finalist for the honor, which has been annually presented since 2002.
The winner of the 2010 Hendricks Award will be announced on December 8.
The 6-foot-4, 260-pound Sheard (Hollywood Hills, Fla./Hollywood Hills) is one of the country's most productive defenders this year regardless of position. Despite being the constant focus of opponents' blocking schemes, he has compiled 45 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 9.0 sacks, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
Sheard leads the Big East in forced fumbles (0.36 forced fumbles/game), ranks second in tackles for loss (1.14 TFLs/game) and is third in sacks (0.82 sacks/game). Nationally, he ranks fifth in forced fumbles (tied) and 15th in sacks.
Sheard has forced teams to game plan around him without having the benefit of preseason All-America end Greg Romeus on the opposite side as Romeus missed all but two games this year due to injury. According to Pitt coaching staff calculations, Sheard has faced double teams 70% of all passing downs this year.
For more Pitt news, visit PittsburghPanthers.com, the official athletic website of the University of Pittsburgh
