Liam Johnson Wins Bushnell Cup For Ivy Defensive Player of the Year

NEW YORK – Liam Johnson received the highest Ivy League honor on Monday, co-winning the Bushnell Cup for Ivy Defensive Player of the Year with Harvard's Truman Jones.

"It's an honor to be recognized for the Bushnell Cup and be considered this level of player by the Ivy League, said Johnson upon earning the award. Individual awards are a testament to the support system around you and there is no greater support system than my family which eats, sleeps, and breathes the game in every aspect of life."

"Through all the things you see on the field, it's how he embraces the passion he has and how he embraces all things you don't see," Princeton head coach Bob Surace said about Johnson winning the honor.

Johnson led Princeton and ranked fourth in the Ivy League in tackles (90). A former Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week, Johnson averaged 13 tackles per game over the final two weeks of the season and scored two touchdowns during the year, including a 92-yard fumble return against Penn. He averaged 9.9 tackles per Ivy League game, the third-best mark in the league.

Yale's Nolan Grooms was named Ivy Offensive Player of the Year.

Presented annually since 1970, The Asa S. Bushnell Cup honors its namesake, a 1921 Princeton alumnus and the commissioner of the Eastern College Athletic Conference from 1938 to 1970. The Bushnell Cup is awarded by a vote of the Ivy League's eight head football coaches to the players who display outstanding qualities of leadership, competitive spirit, contribution to the team and accomplishments on the field.

From 1970 to 2010, the Bushnell Cup recognized an Ivy League Player of the Year (or co-Players of the Year if there was a tie in voting). Beginning with the 2010 season, the award was presented as part of the festivities surrounding the NFF Annual Awards Dinner with four finalists named a week prior to the presentation. Beginning with the 2011 season, the award began recognizing Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, honoring each as a recipient of the Bushnell Cup.

Johnson is the 14th Princeton winner of the Bushnell Cup in program history and gives the Tigers back-to-back defensive honorees as Jeremiah Tyler won it last season. He's the eighth Princeton player since 2012 to earn the conference's highest accolade.

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