LOUISVILLE, Ky. – For the second straight year, University of South Alabama rising senior running back Xavier Johnson was selected to the Paul Hornung Award Preseason Watch List presented by Texas Roadhouse by the Louisville Sports Commission on Monday morning. The award is given to the most versatile player in major college football.

Johnson – who is one of 50 players named to the preseason Paul Hornung Watch List in 2017 – joins rising senior safety Jeremy Reaves (Paycom Jim Thorpe Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy) and junior tight end Maaseiah Francis (John Mackey Award) to be selected to a preseason watch list this summer.

The Tampa, Fla., native enters his final season at the collegiate level positioned as the starter at running back and will serve as the Jaguars' primary kick returner.  He has already been named preseason all-Sun Belt by multiple publications so far.

Johnson enters the 2017 campaign ranked first at South Alabama in several career categories – rushing yards per game (61.8),  100-yard rushing games (9), kickoff return average (25.32), kickoff return touchdowns (2) and all-purpose yards per game (93.6), while ranking in the top five in several other categories.

Last season, Johnson earned honorable mention all-SBC honors and was named second-team all-league as a running back and kick return specialist by Phil Steele Publications.  He led USA with 831 yards rushing, 10 rushing touchdowns, 523 yards on kickoff returns and 1,440 all-purpose yards, and also caught 13 passes for 86 yards.  As a junior, he paced the Sun Belt in all-purpose yards and was fifth in rushing, ending up among the top 100 individuals in the country in both categories.  The 5-foot-11 running back was also among the top 10 in the conference in kickoff return average and scoring.  His season totals also ranked second-most on the school's season record lists for rushing touchdowns, all-purpose yards and all-purpose yards per contest, third in yards rushing and total touchdowns scored, and fourth in average rushing yards per game and kickoff return yards.

Johnson also earned all-league honors as a sophomore.

After Week 12 of the regular season, a panel of college football experts will narrow down the candidate list to approximately 10-15 players based on their performance during the season. The Paul Hornung Award Selection Committee will then choose the finalists for the award with the announcement of the winner from that list set for Dec. 6.

The winner and his family will be honored at the annual Paul Hornung Award Banquet presented by KentuckyOne Health, to be held at the Galt House Hotel in downtown Louisville on March 7, 2018.  Last year's award winner was Jabrill Peppers of Michigan, while previous winners also include Christian McCaffrey [running back, Stanford], Odell Beckham Jr. [wide receiver, LSU] and Tavon Austin [wide receiver, West Virginia].

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Jaguar Athletic Fund (JAF) Priority Fund, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics.  Contributions to the Priority Fund directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/sports/2013/3/13/Gridiron%20Club.aspx?id=22

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