Week Seven Overnight Sensation: Tyree Johnson, Defensive End
Each Monday during the 2019 Texas A&M football season, we’ll identify a first or second-year Aggie player who delivered an exceptional performance and earned the distinction of being the week’s ‘Overnight Sensation.’
There is little doubt where the strength of the Texas A&M defense lies – through the middle. On Saturday, however, the Aggies were able to get pressure and productivity on the edge from defensive end Tyree Johnson, earning him the honor of being this week's Overnight Sensation.
Slowing down the Ole Miss quarterback duo of John Rhys Plumlee and Matt Corrall and the rest of the Rebel offense proved to be an issue early in the night for the A&M defense. But throughout the second half, the Aggies put the Rebels on lockdown on their way to a hard-fought 24-17 SEC West victory in Oxford, Mississippi.
Tyree, a redshirt sophomore out of Washington, D.C. was the Aggies' second-leading tackler in the contest behind linebacker Buddy Johnson. He would finish the night with eight total tackles, two for loss and one sack. That sack was key in forcing a missed Ole Miss 50-yard field goal late in the first half, setting up A&M's touchdown drive that gave the Maroon & White the lead before the break.
In a 1-on-1 interview with Billy Liucci at Kyle Field Media Day before the season, Johnson discussed what makes him so hard to block as a pass rusher:
"My speed and my bend (make me hard to block). Also, my relentlessness. I'm really competitive, and I just like to sack and hit the quarterback."
The Aggies will need more of that relentlessness from Tyree on the edge throughout the second half of 2019. The pass-rusher only has two sacks so far, the other coming against Clemson back in Septemeber.
As a team, the Aggies currently rank tied for 88th in the country with just 12.0 sacks through seven games of play. Standout defensive tackle Justin Madubuike leads Texas A&M individually with 2.5 sacks on the season.
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