Gardner-Webb's Johnston Named To Ted Hendricks Award Mid-Season Watch List
October 19, 2007 | Football
CHICAGO, Ill. – Gardner-Webb senior Brian Johnston
continues to impress in 2007, and was named Thursday afternoon to
the Mid-Season Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award Watch
List.
Johnston (6-5, 280), who was also on the preseason watch list for
the award, has been strong through six games this season,
registering 39 total tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 10 quarterback
knockdowns, 16 quarterback pressures, 3.0 quarterback sacks, three
pass break ups and a forced fumble. A total of 10 holding calls
have been whistled on players trying to block Johnston so far this
season.
The San Diego, Calif., (Madison HS) native remains the only
Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) player on the list, which
also includes FBS standouts such as George Selvie (South Florida),
Chris Long (Virginia), Calais Campbell (Miami), Tyson Jackson (LSU)
and Lawrence Jackson (Southern Cal).
"This has been a very unusual year, not only for the collegiate
teams, but for the DEs," said former Oakland Raiders' linebacker
Ted Hendricks in a written statement. "The award is still up for
the player that excels in the second half of the season, and I
encourage all to help their teams in this final half of the
season."
Johnston is also on the mid-season Buck Buchanan Award Watch List,
which is given annually to the top defensive player in the Football
Championship Subdivision.
A highly-rated player already by professional scouts, Johnston was
listed by ESPN's Mel Kiper as the No. 5 senior defensive end
prospect for the 2008 NFL Draft in his September 27 top-5 ranking,
published on ESPN.com.
Johnston has enjoyed a fine career overall in Boiling Springs,
totaling 233 tackles, 39.0 tackles for loss (minus-199 yards), 17.5
sacks (minus-124 yards), 63 quarterback pressures, 11 forced
fumbles and six pass break ups. He needs just 14 hits to move into
the top-10 in Gardner-Webb history for total tackles, and already
ranks among the school's career leaders in both tackles for loss
and sacks.
"It is an honor to be considered for this award, and humbling to
see my name mentioned with the BCS guys you see on television every
Saturday," Johnston said. "The individual attention is flattering,
but I'm focused on helping my team win football games and compete
for a conference championship. We have a big game this weekend in
Virginia."
Gardner-Webb (2-4, 0-0) opens Big South Conference play on Saturday
at VMI. Kickoff is set for 1:00 pm ET in Lexington, Va. (Foster
Stadium).
