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Johnson Earns Numerous Preseason Honors; Mustangs Ranked

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly senior wide receiver Dominique Johnson has been placed on the College Football Performance Awards 2010 Football Championship Subdivision Preseason Watch List. Johnson, who transferred to Cal Poly from UCLA in the summer of 2009, caught 43 passes for 741 yards and six touchdowns last season. He broke the school record for touchdown receptions in a game with five against South Dakota, catching 13 passes for 273 yards. Johnson was a ...

Published Jul 28th, by Eric Burdick

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly senior wide receiver Dominique Johnson has been placed on the College Football Performance Awards 2010 Football Championship Subdivision Preseason Watch List.

Johnson, who transferred to Cal Poly from UCLA in the summer of 2009, caught 43 passes for 741 yards and six touchdowns last season. He broke the school record for touchdown receptions in a game with five against South Dakota, catching 13 passes for 273 yards.

Johnson was a second-team All-Great West Conference selection.

Eleven players from schools on Cal Poly’s 2010 schedule also are on the watch list, including two from fellow Great West Conference member Southern Utah. They are wide receivers Tysson Poots and Fesi Sitake, who also is on the list of punt return specialists.

The watch list also includes quarterback Andrew Selle, running back Chase Reynolds and punter Sean Wren, all of Montana; quarterback Thomas DeMarco, running back Mario Crawford and punter Jon Pisco, all of Old Dominion; wide receiver Da’Marcus Griggs of Texas State, linebacker Matt Parker of Saint Francis (Pa.) and punt returner Champlain Babin of McNeese State.

Reynolds, DeMarco and Selle all are on the Sports Network’s Walter Payton Award Watch List. The Buck Buchanan Award Watch List includes Montana junior cornerback Trumaine Johnson.

Poots (first-team wide receiver), Sitake (third-team return specialist) and Mark Tos of UC Davis (second-team offensive tackle) are the three Great West Conference players named to the Sports Network/Fathead.com Football Championship Subdivision Preseason All-America Team.

The Mustangs return to the practice field August 9 to prepare for their 2010 season opener Sept. 4 against Humboldt State at 6:05 p.m. in Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

In other preseason notes:

• Phil Steele, who publishes preseason college football preview magazines, has released his preseason Football Championship Subdivision Top 40 as well as his 2010 Preseason All-Great West Conference Team.

Cal Poly is ranked No. 14 in the preseason poll, while UC Davis is No. 39. William & Mary tops the Phil Steele preseason rankings, followed by Appalachian State and Villanova.

Mustangs honored on the preseason All-Great West first team are quarterback Tony Smith, fullback Jake Romanelli, wide receiver Dominique Johnson, center Hal Kelley, offensive guard Will Mitchell, defensive tackle James Chen, defensive end Gavin Cooper, linebackers Marty Mohamed and Kenny Jackson and defensive back Asa Jackson. Jackson also was selected as a return specialist.

Second-team honorees include offensive tackle Scott Winnewisser and offensive guard Maurice McClure.

Johnson also has been named to Phil Steele’s 2010 Preseason FCS All-American third team.

• Cal Poly is ranked No. 23 in the preseason Any Given Saturday poll. Defending national champion Villanova is No. 1, followed by Montana and Appalachian State. No other Great West school is in the top 25, but the Big Sky Conference is represented by four schools. In addition to Montana, Eastern Washington is at No. 14, Weber State at No. 18 and Montana State at No. 22.