Paul Johnson Named Nation's Top First-Year Coach

Jan. 8, 2009

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (FWAA) – Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson was named Thursday as the nation’s top first-year coach as part of the Football Writers Association of America and Aon Insurance’s Freshman All-America Team.

Johnson led Georgia Tech, one of the nation’s youngest teams, to a 9-4 record and a Chick-fil-A Bowl berth.

The FWAA Freshman All-America Team consists of 27 players, including 15 true freshmen and 12 redshirt freshmen. The Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Southeastern, Big 12 and Pacific-10 conferences each placed four players on the team. Conference USA was the only other conference with multiple players on the team with two.

Johnson and the team were selected by a 11-person panel of writers led by Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News Sentinel. A total of 116 players were nominated for the team and considered by the committee.