Valparaiso University football redshirt senior punter Sam Johnson (Birmingham, Ala. / Oak Mountain [Jackson State / Alabama]) has been named the Pioneer Football League Special Teams Player of the Year as the league announced its major award winners on Monday.
 
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. His long of 65 came on Sept. 7 at Youngstown State and his season-best punting average of 51.25 came in the season finale vs. Davidson, one of three times that he averaged better than 50 yards per punt.
 
Johnson finished the season 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.
 
Johnson became the second Valpo player to win the league's Special Teams Player of the Year Award since the PFL started doling out the honor in 2015. The previous Valpo honoree was Ben Niesner, who shared the award with San Diego return specialist Hunter Nichols following the Spring 2021 campaign. Johnson becomes the first Valpo player to win this award outright and the first to do so following a full-length season.
 
This kicks off a busy week of recognition as All-PFL honors will be announced on Tuesday and Academic All-PFL recognition is coming on Wednesday. In addition, semifinalists for the FCS Punter of the Year Award will be revealed on Wednesday and the winner of that honor will be named on Monday, Dec. 16.
 
2024 Pioneer Football League Award Winners
Offensive Player of the Year: Ja'seem Reed, San Diego
Defensive Player of the Year: Eric Haney, San Diego
Special Teams Player of the Year: Sam Johnson, Valparaiso
Freshman Offensive Player of the Year: Collin Hurst, Presbyterian
Freshman Defensive Player of the Year: James Kratochvil, Marist
Coach of the Year: Todd Stepsis, Drake