Tyler Johnson Named Walter Camp National Defender of Week

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Arizona State defensive end Tyler Johnson was named the National FBS Player of the Week by the Walter Camp Football Foundation.

For the 18th year, the Foundation honors one offensive and one defensive player as its national player of the week during the regular season. Recipients are selected by a panel of national media members. Tyler Johnson earned National Defensive Player of the Week honors for his outstanding effort in the 28-10 victory over Stanford on Friday. Kentucky quarterback Will Levis was the recipient of the National Offensive Player of the Week award.

Johnson represents the fifth Arizona State player to receive the honors from Walter Camp, the first since teammate Jayden Daniels won on Nov. 24, 2019 after a win over No. 6 Oregon. He was a disruptive force all game, putting together his best performance of the season.

Despite going up against two of the best tackles in the conference, Johnson was productive, frequently penetrating into the backfield. He finished with five total tackles (four solo), 3.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks in a dominant effort. Johnson was also credited with a key forced fumble, the third of his career, as he punched the ball out to force a turnover while Stanford was driving. The defensive line unit, led by Johnson, was a big reason why ASU held the Cardinal to just 13 yards rushing.

During the victory, he eclipsed the 25 tackles for loss milestone in style, now boasting 26.5 in his career. Johnson now has three games in his career with multiple sacks. He sits just 4.5 sacks shy of a spot in the Top-10 in program history in the category.  Johnson was the 7th-highest graded defender in Pac-12 overall according to PFF and the 2nd-best among edge defenders (77.8). His 6 QB pressures were the most in the Pac-12 for the week (14th in FBS). Johnson managed to force a pressure on 18.8 percent of his snaps, most in the Pac-12 (18th in FBS). 

The Sun Devils return to action on Saturday, Oct. 16th at 7 pm when they travel to Salt Lake City to take on Utah on ESPN. You can also listen to the game on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.