Alabama's Rashad Johnson is Nagurski
Defensive Player of the Week

Senior safety plays key role in win at LSU

Alabama free safety Rashad Johnson has been named the FWAA/Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week for games of the weekend of Nov. 8.

Johnson is a 6' 190 lb. senior from Sulligent, Ala. and tied a Crimson Tide record with three interceptions in Alabama's 27-21 overtime victory at LSU. He returned one of the interceptions 54 yards for a touchdown and his third interception helped seal the win in overtime. Johnson also recorded four tackles, including a half sack. The senior safety intercepted an LSU pass in overtime, paving the way for Alabama's 27-21 overtime win at No. 15 at LSU win and earning the Crimson Tide a "Pontiac Game Changing Performance" nomination.

Johnson is already on the 2008 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy will be presented to the best defensive player in college football on Dec. 7 by the FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, N.C. Five finalists for the Nagurski Trophy will be announced next week.

Each week during the 2008 season the FWAA All-America Committee has selected a national defensive player of the week from nominations made by the 11 Division I Bowl Subdivision Conferences and major independents. This is the final week that a player of the week will be selected this season. Frank Coyle has been a voter in this award over recent years.

Last season, LSU tackle Glenn Dorsey won the coveted Bronko Nagurski Trophy during the 13th season the FWAA has named a national defensive player of the year.

The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,000 men and women across North America who cover college football for a living. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game day operations, major awards, a national poll and its annual All-America team.

The Charlotte Touchdown Club is a non-profit organization founded in 1990 for the purpose of promoting high school, collegiate, and professional football in the Charlotte, N.C., region. The club's activities and services focus community attention on the outstanding citizenship, scholarship, sportsmanship, and leadership of area athletes and coaches. The official website of the Charlotte Touchdown Club is www.touchdownclub.com.

2008 Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Players of the Week
• Aug. 30: Ben Owens, Arkansas State
• Sept. 6: Patrick Benoist, Vanderbilt
• Sept. 13: DeAndre Levy, Wisconsin
• Sept. 20: Ryan Hamilton, Vanderbilt
• Sept. 27: Trimane Goddard, North Carolina
• Oct. 4: Scott McKillop, Pittsburgh
• Oct. 11: Tyrrell Herbert, Toledo
• Oct. 18: Jerry Hughes, TCU
• Oct. 25: Darryl Gamble, Georgia
• Nov. 1: Daniel Charbonnet, Texas Tech
• Nov. 8: Rashad Johnson, Alabama