Johnston Named Big South Defensive Player of the Week
October 22, 2007 | Football
CHARLOTTE – Gardner-Webb defensive end Brian
Johnston was named New Balance Big South Conference Defensive
Player of the Week on Monday, marking the third time this season he
has earned the award.
Johnston (6-5, 280, Sr.) had a dominant afternoon in Gardner-Webb's
36-22 win at VMI, recording 11 tackles (six solo), a career-high
4.0 tackles for loss (minus-26 yards) and 2.0 quarterback sacks
(minus-13 yards).
His final tackle behind the line of scrimmage came on a fourth-down
play with Gardner-Webb clinging to a 29-22 lead. VMI's punter
rolled right on what initially appeared to be a rugby kick –
but Johnston darted through the line and smothered the Keydet for a
12-yard loss after he decided to run instead. The big play set up
Gardner-Webb inside the VMI 20-yard line, and David
Montgomery scored quickly with less than three minutes to play
to seal the game.
Johnston now leads the Big South in sacks (5.0) and tackles for
loss (13.5), and ranks first among defensive linemen this season
with 50 total stops (25 solo). Johnston also has 16 quarterback
pressures and 10 knockdowns to his credit through seven games, and
has broken up three passes at the line. Teams have been whistled
for 11 holding calls and four false starts involving Johnston
through seven games.
The San Diego, Calif., (Madison HS) native was also named Big South
Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 10 and Oct. 1 this
season.
Johnston's career numbers are staggering.
One of the top ends in Gardner-Webb history now has 245 career
tackles, which leaves him just two shy of the school's top-10 list.
He has made 41.5 career tackles for loss, recording an eye-popping
225 lost yards in the process – and ranks first in Big South
Conference history in both categories. His 19.5 career sacks also
lead the Big South career list – and Johnston's 63 quarterback
pressures are a GWU record.
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr., recently rated Johnston as the
No. 5 defensive end available in the senior class (Sept. 27), and
Johnston was named last week to mid-season watch lists for the Buck
Buchanan Award and Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year
Award.
Gardner-Webb (3-4, 1-0 Big South) will play its first home game in
nearly a month on Saturday, Oct. 27, as Charleston Southern (3-4,
0-1 Big South) rolls into Boiling Springs for a key 6:30 pm
matchup. The game will air live on SportSouth (Time Warner Cable
Channel 60), with Matt Devlin and Rod Smith providing the call from
Spangler Stadium.
Fans interested in tickets should call the Gardner-Webb athletics
department at (704) 406-4340.
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES BY GWU
Freshman outside linebacker Jeffrey
Williams set a new career-high for tackles for the fourth time
in four weeks, registering 16 hits and a tackle for loss at VMI.
Williams leads Gardner-Webb with 80 tackles, and is on pace to
become the first true freshman in the school's senior college
history to reach 100 stops in a season.
Gardner-Webb head coach Steve
Patton won his 100th career game as a collegiate head coach on
Saturday, and his 70th with Gardner-Webb University.
David Montgomery had one of his best overall
games of the season, rushing for 97 yards and two touchdowns on 12
carries, and catching three passes for 13 yards. Montgomery now has
26 catches on the season, leaving him 14 shy of the school's
single-season record for a running back.
Quantavis Jackson had seven tackles and scored Gardner-Webb's first defensive touchdown of the season – a 46-yard jaunt on the game's third play from scrimmage. Jackson's score marked GWU's first defensive touchdown since Billy Luther's 35-yard fumble return vs. VMI last season (Oct. 28).
