Dec. 28, 2000
Football: Johnson TSN All-American; Penguins Ranked 11th
   Southampton, Pa. -- Senior linebacker Tim Johnson earned another postseason All-America honor when he was named a first-team All-American by the SportsNetwork.
    Johnson, a senior from Fairfield, Ala., finished the year with 180 tackles and five interceptions. He was also named a first-team All-American by The Associated Press and by the American Football Coaches Association.
    While Johnson garnered another nation accolade, the Penguins finished ranked 11th in the final SportsNetwork poll released following Georgia Southern’s 27-25 win over Montana in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship game. The ranking is the the 10th time in the past 15 seasons that YSU has ended the season ranked in the national poll. The Gateway Conference finished the year with four teams ranked in the top 25, tied with the Southern Conference for most representation in the poll. Western Kentucky, who joins the Gateway in 2001 finished fifth.

SportsNetwork Top 25
1. Georgia Southern (48)
2. Montana
3. Delaware
4. Appalachian State
5. Western Kentucky
6. Richmond
7. Hofstra
8. Lehigh
9. Troy State
10. Furman
11. Youngstown State
12. Western Illinois
13. Grambling
14. Florida A&M
15. Portland State
16. McNeese State
17. Eastern Illinois
18. Weber State
19. Northern Iowa
20. Bethune-Cookman
21. North Carolina A&T
22. Tennessee Tech
23. Wofford
24. Illinois State
25. Southwest Texas State