With the official close of the college football season drawing near, CBSSports.com became one of the first outlets to roll out its All-America team for the 2012 season.
The Gators only placed one player — kicker Caleb Sturgis — on the website’s preseason list, but found three players on the postseason squad with junior safety Matt Elam and sophomore punter Kyle Christy joining Sturgis, who made the team for the second year in a row.
Elam’s 65 tackles and four interceptions were enough to garner him a spot on the first team defensive list, with his totals ranking him at 21st and 41st in the nation, respectively. Elam also tallied 10 tackles for loss, four pass breakups, four forced fumbles and a sack on the season from his safety spot.
After starting off the season ranked on CBSSports.com’s first team All-America team, Sturgis finds himself on the second team for specialists for the second year in a row.
Sturgis, who will be in Orlando on Thursday as a finalist for the Lou Groza Award, was arguably the Gators’ biggest offensive threat this season.
The strong-legged senior from St. Augustine was Florida’s leading scorer this year with 101 points, becoming only the third player in UF history to leave Gainesville with 300 or more points scored. Sturgis successfully made 23 field goals and 32 point after attempts on the year, totals that tied him for second in the SEC in total scoring.
After a quiet freshman season, Christy exploded in his second year in orange and blue and was rewarded with an inclusion on the third team list.
The Brownsburg, Ind. native will join Sturgis in Orlando as a finalist for the Ray Guy Award, which was last won by Florida’s Chas Henry in 2010. Christy was responsible for much of the good field position the Gators’ defense enjoyed this season, with his booming punts averaging an SEC-best 46.10 yards.
Christy’s signature game came against South Carolina, as he managed to break a school record with a punting average of 54.3 yards, which was the second best performance this season nationally.