UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Senior Jan Johnson (Mohnton, Pa.) is among the 10 semifinalists for the Burlsworth Trophy for the most outstanding football player in America who began his career as a walk-on.(Photo by Paul Burdick. Check out more of Burdick’s work here)
Matt McGloin is Penn State’s only winner of the Burlsworth Trophy, picking up the award as a senior in 2012. Carl Nassib was a finalist for the award in 2015.
Johnson is fourth on the team with 44 tackles. He also has 4.0 tackles for loss, one interception, two pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He was a Pro Football Focus Midseason All-America honorable mention. He also claimed Pro Football Focus Big Ten Team of the Week second-team honors following the Michigan State game (10/26) and was on the Pro Football Focus National and Big Ten Team of the Week first team following his performance vs. Pitt (9/14).
The native of Mohnton, Pennsylvania had a career-high 14 tackles against Buffalo, including nine in the first half. He also secured an interception on the opening drive of the Maryland game. He posted his second game with 10 or more tackles with 11 stops against Minnesota, including a career-high three tackles for loss.
The selection committee will announce the top three Burlsworth Trophy finalists on November 19. Finalists will be honored and the winner of the 2019 Burlsworth Trophy will be announced on December 9, at a luncheon in Springdale, Arkansas, hosted by the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation, in conjunction with the Springdale Rotary Club.
The trophy is named in honor of Brandon Burlsworth. Without one D1 scholarship offer, Brandon walked on to the Razorback team in 1994, worked his way to being a three-year starter and was eventually named an All-American in 1998. Burlsworth was selected as the 63rd overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1999 NFL draft but was tragically killed in a car accident 11 days later. The Burlsworth Foundation was created in his memory and supports the physical and spiritual needs of children, in particular, those children who have limited opportunities.
