Tyler Johnson Lands on Hendricks Award Watch List

CHICAGO -  Sun Devil Football defensive lineman Tyler Johnson has been named to the 2021 Hendricks Award Watch List, the Ted Hendricks Foundation announced Thursday.

The Ted Hendricks Award honors the top defensive end in college football. Johnson continues to add to his impressive accolades this season, having previously been named the Walter Camp National Defender of the Week and Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week. 

Johnson has been one of the most productive defensive lineman in the Pac-12, showing his ability to rush the passer and stop the run. He has collected 24 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and three sacks, while also forcing a fumble and breaking up a pass. He has 14.5 sacks in his Sun Devil career and is only 4.5 sacks shy of a spot in the Top-10 in ASU career history. Johnson is ASU's active leader in career tackles for loss, racking up 27.5 over his four seasons. 

Back in October, Johnson was named the Walter Camp National Defender of the Week for his effort against Stanford, as well as the Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week. He finished with five total tackles (four solo), 3.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks in a dominant effort and was also credited with a key forced fumble. 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).

Johnson has forced a QB pressure on 11.0 percent of his pass rush snaps this season - the eighth-best mark among Pac-12 edge defenders (min. 125 pass rush snaps).

The Ted Hendricks Award Watch List will remain open and subject to change throughout the season. The final version of the Watch List will be issued prior to our first ballot in late November. The announcement of the 2021 recipient will take place on December 8th.

Arizona State has history with the Ted Hendricks Award, as Sun Devil defensive end Terrell Suggs (2000-02) was the inaugural winner of the award after a historic 2002 season. He finished that campaign with an NCAA single-season record 24 sacks before being drafted by the Ravens in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft. 

ABOUT THE AWARD

The Ted Hendricks Award is named in honor of college football's first three-time first-team All-American. On-field performance, exceptional winning attitude, leadership abilities, contributions to school and community and academic preparedness are some of the criteria used to determine the Award's recipient each year. Members of the national media, head coaches, professional scouts and former winners are included on the Award's selection committee. Candidates may represent any class (Freshman through Senior) as well as any four-year NCAA accredited school. The candidate's primary position must be Defensive End.

HENDRICKS AWARD WINNERS

2002 - Terrell Suggs (Arizona State)
2003 - David Pollack (Georgia)
2004 - David Pollack (Georgia)
2005 - Elvis Dumervil (Louisville)
2006 - LaMarr Woodley (Michigan)
2007 - Chris Long (Virginia)
2008 - Brian Orakpo (Texas)
2009 - Jerry Hughes (TCU)
2010 - Da'Quan Bowers (Clemson)
2011 - Whitney Mercilus (Illinois)
2012 - Jadeveon Clowney (S. Carolina)
2013 - Jackson Jeffcoat (Texas)
2014 - Nate Orchard (Utah)
2015 - Carl Nassib (Penn State)
2016 - Jonathan Allen (Alabama)
2017 - Bradley Chubb (N.C. State)
2018 – Clelin Ferrell (Clemson)
2019 – Chase Young (Ohio State)
2020 – No Award Presented