GWU's Johnston Named First-Team AFCA All-America
December 09, 2007 | Football
WACO, Texas – Gardner-Webb defensive end Brian Johnston was
named to the American Football Coaches Association FCS All-America
Team, becoming just the second GWU player in school history to earn
that honor.
Johnston (San Diego, Calif.) joins former teammate Harold Wells
(2004) on the exclusive list of Gardner-Webb players to earn that
honor. Wells was also a defensive end.
The 6-foot-5, 280-pound Johnston was named to the Walter Camp
Foundation All-America Team late last week, and is currently in
preparation for the 2008 NFL Draft – where he is projected to
become the first Bulldog drafted since 1996 (Terry Guess,
Saints).
Johnston enjoyed a fabulous senior season for Steve Patton's
Runnin' Bulldogs, collecting 74 total tackles (37 solo), a school
and conference-record 24.0 tackles for loss, 6.0 sacks and 22
quarterback pressures. He finished second nationally in tackles for
loss per game, and helped Gardner-Webb improve nearly 70 spots
statistically in the final national defensive rankings from a year
ago. GWU led the Big South in total team defense in 2007, with
Johnston leading the way from his end spot.
Johnston finished his career with 20.5 sacks – the most in Big
South history – and finished as the league's top performer in
career tackles for loss and pressures as well. His 269 career
tackles also rank first among defensive lineman in both
Gardner-Webb and Big South history.
With his selection already to a pair of All-America teams, Johnston
has a chance to become the first Bulldog to earn consensus
All-America honors since Wells in 2004.
