The countdown to the 2018 college football season is on. Four FCS teams are in action Aug. 25 as Duquesne takes on UMass, Prairie View faces Rice and North Carolina A&T and Jacksonville State square off in ESPN’s FCS Kickoff.
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HERO Sports is going to count down each day by highlighting the best player in FCS football who wears the jersey number of the number of days to kickoff. You can find the running list of top players here.
*Note: Jersey numbers are from the 2017 season.
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59: Desmond Johnson Jr., junior defensive lineman — Kennesaw State
Since stepping foot on campus, Johnson has been recognized as one of the best defensive lineman in the Big South Conference. He's just a junior entering 2018 but already owns two First Team All-Conference honors. In those seasons, Johnson has combined for 74 total tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks.
KSU was No. 12 in the FCS in total defense (301.4 YPG) and seventh in scoring defense (15.5 PPG). Johnson, at 6-foot-2, 227 pounds, was a big part of that defense that also finished third in the country with 35 forced turnovers.
Thus was born the "Turnover Plank." The Owls defense got to celebrate with Plank quite a bit in their best season in the young program's history. And Johnson serves perhaps an equally important role with Plank as he does disrupting offenses on the football field: he's Plank's primary stylist.
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FCS Kickoff Countdown: The Best Player in FCS Who Wears Each Number, 1-99
CFB Countdown: The Best Player in FBS Football, 1-99
