Freshman Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner was named to the FWAA Freshman All-American Team on Monday. Gardner has 31 tackles and three interceptions during his freshman campaign. He had two huge pick sixes one against UCF and the other against ECU. If Sauce keeps balling like this we might only have two more years of him manning the back end in Clifton.
Congrats Sauce!
Per GoBearcats
University of Cincinnati cornerback Ahmad Gardner (Detroit, Michigan/Martin Luther King) was named to the 2019 Football Writers Association of America-Shaun Alexander Freshman All-America Team presented by Stand Together, the FWAA announced Monday.
Gardner is only UC’s second honoree on the FWAA freshman team, joining former OL Parker Ehinger, who earned the accolade in 2012. The FWAA has presented a Freshman All-America team annually since 2001.
A First-Team All-American Athletic Conference selection, Gardner was also tabbed by Pro Football Focus as a third-team All-America selection and an All-Freshman team honoree while The Athletic named him to their Freshman All-America team.
The first-year player, erupted onto the scene in a huge way in a 27-24 upset win over UCF with a game-changing 16-yard interception return for a TD which gave UC a lead it would not relinquish at Nippert Stadium. Gardner added a second pick-6 at ECU, becoming the fifth UC player all time to have a pair of interception returns for a TD in the same season and first since UC corners coach Mike Mickens in 2007. He played in all 13 games and moved into the starting lineup against UConn and started the final six contests of the season.
Gardner finished the campaign with 31 tackles and 11 passes defended. According to PFF College, Gardner was one of the most frequently targeted DBs in 2019, ranking No. 15 in snaps/target. He finished as PFF College’s No. 6 overall cornerback and No. 7 with a 90.0 coverage grade, allowing no touchdowns and only a 39.4 passer rating against him.
UC (11-3) closed the 2019 season with an American Athletic Conference East Division Championship and a win in the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl. The Bearcats won 11 games for only the fourth time in school history while the back-to-back 11-win seasons in 2018 and 2019 occurred for only the second time in UC’s 132 seasons of football.
