Brian Johnston DE -Gardner Webb

[Tribal Warfare]

Overview Brian Johnston 2007 is the Big South Defensive Player of the Year: just the second repeat winner of the Big South Defensive Player of the Year award, as he was the 2006 honoree. Johnston was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award and was the lone FCS player named to the Ted Hendricks National Defensive End of the Year Award Watch List this season. Johnston led the Big South and finished second nationally in tackles-for-loss per game (2.18), and posted a Big South single-season record of 24.0 TFL. He also recorded six sacks (second in the Conference) while making 74 tackles on the season. He had seven games with at least 2.0 TFL, including five games with three-or-more, and had 12.5 TFL in four League games. He is a promising prospect with above average size, strength and upfield explosiveness. Is the best defensive prospect in the conference and could be as good or better than Justin Smith if he maxes out. Strengths Good sized DE, has decent athletic ability. Good against the run and pass. Good enough athlete to have started as a Frosh at SLB, and caught a 3 yard touchdown pass this season. Has benched 450, squatted 505, Weaknesses Has been able to use raw strength and speed to overwhelm opponents, he does not have a polished array of moves. Has short arms. 31.75 inches, for such a rangy athlete and needs to work on getting underneath the quicker footed OTs he'll face at the next level. Projection A possible 6th or even a 5th rounder. If he can get stronger and keep his speed and quickness he could be a real find on day 2. It's not impossible a team could try him as a 3-4 OLB but he is not used to being in space.