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Delaware’s Johnson added to I-AA All-Star Classic

1:24 p.m., Nov. 20, 2003--A fourth University of Delaware football player, senior defensive end Shawn Johnson, has been selected to participate in the inaugural NCAA Division I-AA All-Star Classic to be played Dec. 30 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Johnson, a transfer from Duke University, joins fellow Fightin’ Blue Hens Jason Nerys, Andy Hall and Mike Adams in the All-Star game, which is sponsored and will be televised by The Football Network.

Johnson, who earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference a year ago at Duke, has dominated action on the line this season for the Blue Hens. He ranks fifth on the team in tackles with 49, including 29 solo stops. He leads the Atlantic 10 Football Conference in sacks with 10, is second in tackles for loss with 18, and has also broken up five passes, recovered two fumbles and forced two fumbles.

The players will be divided into two squads, named for Division I-AA legends Walter Payton, who played at Jackson State University before having a stellar career for the NFL’s Chicago Bears, and Eddie Robinson, who was the long-time coach at Grambling State University.

The coaches for the All-Star game are Tommy Tate of McNeese State University and David Elson of Western Kentucky University. These were the two schools that played for the Division I-AA championship last year.

A large contingent of NCAA Division I-AA players typically enter the NFL each year, including former UD quarterback Rich Gannon of the Oakland Raiders.

Other high profile professional players from Division I-AA programs are Randy Moss of the Minnesota Vikings, who played at Marshall University before it moved to Division I, and Kurt Warner, who played at Northern Iowa University.

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