Johnson Remains in Payton Award Hunt
11/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - With two weeks remaining in the 2014 regular season, Gus Johnson continues to rewrite the Stephen F. Austin football record book while maintaining his case for the Walter Payton Award.
Johnson is coming off his lowest output of the season in the win over sixth-ranked McNeese State Saturday, being limited to just 32 yards and no touchdowns by the highly touted Cowboy defensive unit. But with his 32 yards in Lake Charles, Johnson became just the second player in SFA history to eclipse 3,500 career yards, sitting at 3,506 for his storied career.
The senior's 3,506 yards has come off 559 carries, giving him an average of 6.3 yard per carry for his career. Sitting second all-time in career rushing yards, Johnson heads into the final two games of the regular season 266 yards shy of surpassing Larry Centers' 3,771 career yards, meaning Johnson would need to average 133 yards over the final two games to surpass Centers as SFA's all-time rushing king.
On the season, Johnson has rushed for 1,282 yards on 184 carries (7.0 ypc), which is currently the fourth-best single season performance in SFA history. The top rushing season in program history was Centers' 1,440 yards in 1989, meaning Johnson needs 159 yards to post SFA's top rushing season. For comparison's sake, Centers needed 15 games to reach his 1,440 yards while Johnson has posted his 1,282 yards in just 10 games.
The Gilmer native is already SFA's all-time single-season (19) and career (47) rushing touchdown leader, having posted seven games with three or more touchdowns in his career. The second SFA rusher to post back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, Johnson has notched four games of 200 rushing yards or more, which is the most by a single player in program history.
His exploits continue to rank among the top in the nation as Johnson currently sits second in touchdowns (19), third in both yards per carry (6.97) and scoring (11.4 ppg), eighth in rushing yards (1,282) and ninth in rushing yards per game (128.2). A dual threat player, Johnson ranks 22nd nationally in all purpose yards, averaging 139.9 per game.
A two-time Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week selection in 2014, Johnson leads the conference in every rushing category this season while also making a name for himself in the conference record book. His 3,506 career rushing yards ranks seventh all-time while his 47 rushing touchdowns is fourth and his 48 total touchdowns rank fifth all-time in SLC history.
A two-time All-SLC performer and preseason first team all-conference selection, Johnson last week received an invite to participate in the 2015 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Carson, Calif. One of the premiere postseason season all-star games, the week-long event includes practices, personal development and networking opportunities with all 32 NFL teams, leading up to the game on Jan. 17 at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.
Johnson was named to the 2014 Walter Payton Award Watch List on September 30th, joining Southeastern Louisiana quarterback Bryan Bennett as the only Southland Conference players on the list. Named after the legendary NFL Hall of Fame running back, the Walter Payton Award is given each year to the top collegiate football player at the FCS level. Ballots will be sent to a national panel of over 150 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries following the regular season. The top three vote-getters will be invited to the presentation of the award.
Johnson and the rest of the Lumberjacks begin a key two game home stand to close out the 2014 regular season with their Southland Conference championship and NCAA playoff chances still alive. SFA hosts Abilene Christian Saturday at Homer Bryce Stadium with kickoff against the Wildcats set for 3 p.m.
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