Wofford College Athletics

Enters his senior season with 196 career tackles . . . Owns four career interceptions as well . . . Will start at strong safety . . . Solid, hard-nosed player and team leader . . . Has played both free safety and strong safety . . . Provides leadership with his strong work ethic . . . Named Wofford’s 2004 Defensive Back of the Year as well as Rookie of the Year . . . Has a great knowledge of the Terriers’ defensive scheme . . . Is like a quarterback on the field . . . A true student of the game . . . Has all-conference potential . . . 2006: Earned second team All-Southern Conference honors from the league media . . . Named to the Academic All-Southern Conference team . . . Member of the SoCon Academic Honor Roll . . . Started all 11 games for the second straight year . . . Was the third-leading tackler on the team with 68 stops . . . Had five tackles for loss, three pass breakups and an interception . . . The pick came against Chattanooga (Nov. 11) . . . Returned a partially blocked punt 22 yards for a touchdown against Furman (Sept. 30) . . . Made a career-high 11 tackles vs. Western Carolina (Oct. 28) . . . Had three pass breakups on the year including two vs. The Citadel (Oct. 7) . . . Tied for 14th in the SoCon in tackles . . . 2005: Started all 11 games at strong safety as a sophomore . . . Earned Academic All-Southern Conference honors . . . Broke his hand in the first quarter of the season finale at Gardner-Webb (Nov. 19) but returned to action in the second half . . . Underwent off-season surgery to repair the fracture . . . Finished fifth on the team with 59 tackles . . . 35 of those were solo stops . . . Had one interception on the year but it was critical as it halted Elon’s final possession and ensured a 14-9 Terrier win . . . Collected a sack against VMI (Oct. 15) and a half sack against Western Carolina (Nov. 5) . . . Season-high 10 tackles against Chattanooga (Oct. 1) and Appalachian State (Oct. 22) . . . Also made eight stops against West Virginia (Sept. 10) . . . Blocked a kick against Western Carolina . . . Tied for third on the squad with three pass breakups . . . Nominee for Academic All-America honors . . . 2004: Named the Terriers’ Freshman of the Year and Defensive Back of the Year . . . Placed sixth on the team with 69 tackles . . . Tied for the team lead with two interceptions and was one shy of the top mark with two forced fumbles . . . Earned Wofford Defensive Player of the Week honors as he blocked a punt and totaled 13 tackles in a 56-21 win over Chattanooga (Oct. 2) . . . Received a positive grade on 30 of his 31 snaps against the Mocs . . . Also returned a kickoff 16 yards in the game . . . Made his first collegiate start the next week and recorded his first interception while also forcing a fumble in a 27-13 win at Elon (Oct. 9) . . . Totaled nine stops, seven solo, against the Phoenix . . . Reached double figures with 10 tackles, including one for a loss, along with a pass breakup in the 15-12 victory over Western Carolina (Oct. 16) . . . Had his second interception of the season in addition to a fumble recovery and five tackles in the 49-17 win against Gardner-Webb (Nov. 6) . . . Closed the season with 11 tackles, nine solo, and a forced fumble in the victory at VMI (Nov. 20) . . . Had an eight-tackle effort vs. Johnson C. Smith (Sept. 25) . . . High School: A 2004 graduate of Notre Dame High School . . . Broke every rushing record for Notre Dame . . . First-team all-area as a defensive back and a unanimous All-Star team selection by the league coaches . . .First-team All-conference on offense and defense . . . Second-team all-state . . . Set school career rushing (4,459 yards) and touchdown (59) records . . . Also holds the single-game (304 yards) and season mark (1,574 yards) in rushing . . . Totaled a team-best 25 touchdowns as a senior . . . Had three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons . . . Played at tailback, safety and punter . . . Posted a team-high 115 tackles as a senior . . . Helped lead his school to a 9-2 record and berth in the District 11 Class 2-A playoffs his senior year . . . Placed third in voting for the Maxwell Award which covers Northeast Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey . . . Two-year team captain and three-time Most Valuable Player . . . A three-sport athlete who also lettered in basketball and baseball . . . Ranked 13th in his graduating class . . . Personal: Born March 3, 1986 in Lancaster, PA . . . Son of Frank and Agnes Tavani . . . Father is the head football coach at Lafayette College . . . Finance major.