Johnson Named to All-PFL First Team, Four Beacons Achieve All-PFL Second Team Honors
A day after being named the Pioneer Football League Special Teams Player of the Year, Valparaiso University football redshirt senior punter Sam Johnson (Birmingham, Ala. / Oak Mountain [Jackson State / Alabama]) was tabbed to the All-Pioneer Football League First Team on Tuesday, leading 10 Beacons who received recognition.
Four members of the program including three defensive linemen garnered All-PFL Second Team nods – redshirt senior running back Michael Mansaray (Columbus, Ohio / Westerville South [South Dakota]), junior defensive lineman Onye Nwosisi (Indianapolis, Ind. / Cardinal Ridge [Muskingum]), redshirt senior defensive lineman Sam Hafner (Green Bay, Wis. / De Pere) and redshirt junior defensive lineman Kevin Spelman (New Lenox, Ill. / Providence Catholic).
Five others obtained All-PFL Honorable Mention – redshirt junior linebacker Jake Birmingham (River Forest, Ill. / Oak Park and River Forest), senior linebacker Jimmy Pouba (Chicago, Ill. / Lyons [College of Sequoias]), redshirt senior offensive lineman Tyler Eberhart (Barberton, Ohio / Barberton), redshirt junior kicker Ryan Hawk (Columbus, Ohio / Bishop Hartley) and redshirt junior running back Ryan Mann (Vernon Hills, Ill. / Vernon Hills [Northern Illinois]).
This marks the fifth consecutive year that Valpo boasted an All-PFL First or Second Team punter. Johnson finished with a season punting average of 47.13, shattering the previous program and PFL record of 43.68 that had stood for 14 years since it was established by Greg Wood in 2010. Johnson had 24 punts of 50 yards or more and pinned the opposition inside the 20 on 19 occasions. He ranked third nationally in FCS in punting average and second among those with at least 50 attempts. Elon’s Jeff Yurk averaged 47.9 yards per punt on 60 attempts, while The Citadel’s James Platte averaged 47.3 yards per punt on 44 attempts. Johnson was named the PFL Special Teams Player of the Week four times this year – Sept. 15, Oct. 20, Oct. 27 and Nov. 24.
Mansaray ranked seventh in the PFL with 58.36 rushing yards per game. His 4.52 yards per rush ranked sixth in the league, while his nine rushing touchdowns were tied for fourth and his 642 total rushing yards ranked seventh. He was one rushing score away from becoming just the eighth player in program history with double-figure rushing touchdowns in a single season. Mansary had a season-best 135 rushing yards on Oct. 26 at Marist, narrowly ahead of his 132 on Sept. 21 vs. Roosevelt.
Valpo accounted for three of the eight All-PFL First and Second Team defensive linemen in the 11-team league. Hafner finished the season with 52 tackles including 21 solos and a team-high six tackles for loss. He notched 1.5 sacks and hurried the quarterback on three occasions. The team captain added to his long list of honors that also includes 2024 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team Nominee, 2024 Campbell Trophy Semifinalist, 2023 All-PFL First Team, 2023 Academic All-PFL First Team, 2023 Phil Steele All-PFL First Team, 2023 Team Defensive Player of the Year, 2023 CSC Academic All-District, 2022 Academic All-PFL First Team, 2022 All-PFL Second Team, 2022 CSC Academic All-District, 2022 Phil Steele All-PFL Third Team. This marked his third straight season earning first or second team all-conference accolades. Hafner had a season-high eight tackles on Nov. 9 vs. Butler and matched that total the following week at Dayton. He recorded seven tackles or more in each of the final three games of the season.
Spelman’s four sacks led the team while he totaled six tackles for loss, 33 tackles (13 solos), six QB hurries and a fumble recovery. He earned All-PFL Honorable Mention at long snapper last season after garnering All-PFL Honorable Mention at both defensive line and long snapper in 2022, when he was a Phil Steele All-PFL Third Team honoree and a member of the Jerry Rice FCS Freshman of the Year Award Watch List. His season-high eight tackles came on Oct. 26 at Marist.
Nwosisi finished the season as one of 22 FCS players nationally with multiple blocked kicks, turning away field-goal tries on Oct. 5 vs. Drake and Nov. 9 vs. Butler. He had 39 tackles including 19 solos, 5.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks this season while also hurrying the quarterback nine times and recovering a fumble despite missing two games due to injury. His season-high eight tackles came on Sept. 14 vs. Indiana Wesleyan.
Birmingham totaled 82 tackles (36 solos) in just nine games to lead the team by a wide margin despite being sidelined for two contests. He also recovered a fumble, forced a fumble, had two sacks and notched four tackles for loss. He ranked fourth in the PFL at 9.11 tackles per game, had seven or more in each of his final eight games and posted double-figure tackle totals in four of his final five and each of his last three including a career-high 15 on Nov. 16 at Dayton.
Pouba was fourth on the team with 51 tackles including 19 solos and two tackles for loss. He recorded a team-high seven pass breakups. The team captain boasted a season-best 10 tackles on Oct. 26 at Marist. Eberhart, named the 2023-24 Leadership Playbook Collegiate Male Student-Athlete of the Year, started all 11 games this season on Valpo’s offensive line. Mann, who earned All-PFL Honorable Mention for the second straight year and was also an Academic All-PFL Second Team performer last season, had 203 rushing yards on 65 attempts, averaging 20.3 yards per game with one touchdown.
Hawk went 11-of-15 on field-goal tries with two makes from 50+ yards including a long of 51. He booted 21 of his 38 kickoffs for touchbacks while finishing tied for fifth in program history for made field goals in a single season with 11 and going 16-for-16 on PATs.
