Home Sixteen Flames named to Phil Steele preseason All-Independent team
Sports

Sixteen Flames named to Phil Steele preseason All-Independent team

Contributors
liberty cure bowl
Liberty players celebrate after the Flames closed out a 37-34 win over Coastal Carolina in the 2020 Cure Bowl. Photo courtesy Liberty Athletics.

Following a standout season in 2020, Liberty’s Durrell Johnson will head into the 2021 campaign as a preseason All-American.

Johnson has been named to the 2021 Phil Steele Preseason All-America team, garnering a fourth-team selection as a defensive end.

Johnson, along with 15 other Flames, have also been named to the 2021 Phil Steele Preseason Independent All-Conference teams.

Liberty had the most selections on the Phil Steele Preseason Independent All-Conference teams (16), followed by Notre Dame (12), BYU (10), Army (9), New Mexico State (5) and UConn and UMass (4).

Liberty’s first-team all-conference honorees include: Malik Willis (QB), Tristan Schultz (OT), Johnson (DE), Marcus Haskins (CB) and Demario Douglas (PR).

The Flames’ second-team all-conference selections include: Joshua Mack (RB), DJ Stubbs (WR), Johnny Huntley (TE), Brendan Schlittler (OG), Ralphs Rusins (DT), Elijah James (DT), TreShaun Clark (DE), Javon Scruggs (S), Alex Barbir (K), Shedro Louis (KR) and Austin Mock (LS).

After his first season at Liberty, Johnson, a transfer from ASA College in Brooklyn, N.Y., was named to the 2020 Phil Steele Postseason All-America as a fourth-team selection.

Last season, Johnson led the Flames with 11.5 tackles for a loss (74 yards) and 8.5 sacks (65 yards). The junior college transfer ranked No. 28 in the country in sacks per game (0.77).

The native of Baltimore, Md., also finished 2020 with 38 tackles (25 solo, 13 assisted), which ranked fourth on the team.

He added six quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and an interception, helping Liberty rank No. 11 nationally in total defense (317.7 yards allowed per game).

Phil Steele Preseason All-America Team

Durrell Johnson, DE (fourth team)

Phil Steele Preseason Independent All-Conference Teams

First Team

  • Malik Willis, QB
  • Tristan Schultz, OT
  • Durrell Johnson, DE
  • Marcus Haskins, CB
  • Demario Douglas, PR

Second Team

  • Joshua Mack, RB
  • DJ Stubbs, WR
  • Johnny Huntley, TE
  • Brendan Schlittler, OG
  • Ralphs Rusins, DT
  • Elijah James, DT
  • TreShaun Clark, DE
  • Javon Scruggs, S
  • Alex Barbir, K
  • Shedro Louis KR
  • Austin Mock, LS

Support AFP




Contributors

Contributors

Have a guest column, letter to the editor, story idea or a news tip? Email editor Chris Graham at [email protected]. Subscribe to AFP podcasts on Apple PodcastsSpotifyPandora and YouTube.

Latest News

brian white virginia tech
Etc.

Virginia Tech names Florida Atlantic AD Brian White as the new director of athletics

trash middle river augusta county
Local

Augusta County: Illegal dumping becomes somebody else’s problem

Somebody too lazy to take their trash to one of the many dump sites in Augusta County created one of their own on Bald Rock Road near Verona. A volunteer with Friends of the Middle River happened upon the scene on Monday, in the vicinity of the location where somebody dumped 100 used tires last...

missing person
Local

Missing person alert: Augusta County man last seen on June 11

The Augusta County Sheriff’s Office is requesting assistance with locating Paul Lavelle Hassett Jr., 72, who was last seen around June 11 at his Staunton residence, and was reported missing today by a family member.

joe tiroly uva baseball
Baseball

UVA Baseball: Four ‘Hoos get invites to the 2026 MLB Draft Combine

augusta county sheriff's office
Local

Augusta County: Teen fled cops, twice, last week, and they still can’t find him

jay huff uva basketball
Basketball

Jay Huff, Jacob Gilyard named to the USA Men’s World Cup Qualifying Team

data center technology networking
Politics, Virginia

Poll: Virginia residents make it clear where they stand on data centers