Galloway Native in Contention for College Football's Top Defensive Award

A Galloway native is in the running to be named the best defensive player in college football.

Austin Johnson is one of three Penn State defensive lineman on the Bednarik Award Watch List. He and Carl Nassib were added to the list on Thursday, the University announced. Anthony Zettel was already on the list.

The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995. Chuck Bednarik, former standout at Penn and with the Philadelphia Eagles, is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame’s Class of ‘69 and the NFL Hall of Fame’s Class of ‘67.

Four Nittany Lions have won the award, the most by any football program.

Johnson, a 6’4”, 325-pound junior, has been a force up front for the Nittany Lions with 36 tackles, which is second on the team. He also has 3.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss this season.

Additionally, Johnson registered his first career touchdown with a 71-yard fumble return against San Diego State in a 37-21 win on Sept. 26. The St. Augustine Prep alum is tied for seventh in the Big Ten with 1.25 tackles for loss per game.

Semifinalists for the Bednarik Award will be announced on November 2 and three finalists for each award will be announced November 24.

The winner of the 2015 Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show which will be held on December 10 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.