Johnny Buchanan
St. Louis Battlehawks
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1999-07-25) July 25, 1999
Brick Township, New Jersey, U.S.
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High school:Brick Township (NJ)
St. John Vianney (NJ)
College:Delaware (2018–2022)
Undrafted:2023
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards

Johnny Christian Buchanan (born July 25, 1999)[1] is an American football linebacker for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Delaware.

Early life

Buchanan was born on July 25, 1999.[1] His father, John, played football at Rutgers, while his cousin Collin Olsen was a running back at FIU; his great uncle, Joe Auer, played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons, scoring a touchdown on the first play in the Dolphins' history.[2][3][4]

Buchanan grew up in Brick, New Jersey, and played freshman football at Brick Township High School before transferring to St. John Vianney High School.[1][5] He was a two-way player at St. John Vianney, seeing time at running back and linebacker, and was considered one of their most versatile players.[6] He followed the philosophy used by All-American East Carolina back Scott Harley, called "seek and destroy" – to "punish [the defenders] before they punish you."[7] Buchanan said, "when I played running back, some of the most fun plays were making a quick move and going 70-yards untouched – but something about running through somebody's face is unmatched – so really I had the same mentality on both sides of the ball: make my opponent pay for carrying the ball or trying to tackle me."[7] He studied players such as Ray Lewis, Brian Dawkins, Sean Taylor and Lawrence Taylor to improve his hitting style.[7]

As a junior at St. John Vianney in 2016, Buchanan totaled 140[note 1] tackles, placing eighth in the state, four sacks, two forced fumbles, two recoveries and two interceptions as he helped his school reach the playoff semifinals.[8][9] He additionally posted 433 rushing yards and 12 total touchdowns[note 2] on offense, being named first-team All-Shore, second-team All-State, All-Division, and the conference Defensive Player of the Year.[1][8]

Buchanan was named as a senior first-team All-State, All-Division, first-team All-Shore, All-Metro, the conference Defensive Player of the Year and the Class A Central Defensive Player of the Year.[1][10] On offense, he posted 1,393 yards off 152 attempts with 17 touchdowns, and defensively he recorded 121 tackles, three sacks and an interception.[note 3] While Buchanan was with St. John Vianney, they compiled an overall record of 31–3 and won the conference championship each year; he was twice their team captain and named their most valuable player.[1]

College career

Buchanan received several offers to play college football, including from FCS teams Monmouth, Elon and Albany, but committed to Delaware after getting their offer on his birthday.[3] He spent his true freshman year, 2018, being mentored by Troy Reeder and Charles Bell while being a backup.[3] He appeared in ten games, none of which he started, and totaled seven tackles and one interception.[11] After both Reeder and Bell graduated in 2019, Buchanan was able to see more action.[3] He appeared in nine games, starting five, and made 47 tackles, additionally returning an interception against Stony Brook 33 yards for the only score of his career.[11][12]

In the 2020 season, played in spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Buchanan started all eight games and recorded 42 tackles, placing second on the team, with one sack, helping them qualify for the playoffs.[1] He made at least three tackles in every game and was named first-team All-CAA Football after the season.[1][13] Buchanan appeared in all 11 games the following season, starting eight while leading the team with 81 tackles, including 5.5 for a loss, in addition to one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and a single interception.[1] After the year, he was selected second-team all-conference.[14]

After the firing of Danny Rocco in 2022, Buchanan entered the NCAA transfer portal, although he later decided to stay at Delaware.[5] In what would be his final season at the school, he totaled 150 tackles, leading the entire FCS, and was named first-team All-CAA as well as to seven All-America teams.[15] He also recorded 1.5 sacks, 8.5 TFLs, and one forced fumble with one recovered, being a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award for best defensive player in the FCS.[15][16] Buchanan posted in five games over 15 tackles, including a team record-tying 23 tackles in their win over FBS opponent Navy, for which he was named the national defensive player of the week.[15][17][18]

Buchanan declared for the NFL Draft following the 2022 season, finishing his stint at Delaware with a total of 326 tackles, including 16.5 for a loss, 2.5 sacks, four pass breakups, three interceptions, and two forced fumbles with two fumble recoveries.[15][19]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
5 ft 11+1⁄3 in
(1.81 m)		 228 lb
(103 kg)		 30+3⁄8 in
(0.77 m)		 9 in
(0.23 m)		4.58 s1.56 s4.10 s7.2 s40 in
(1.02 m)		10 ft 7 in
(3.23 m)		22 reps
All values from pro day[2]

Buchanan attended Delaware's pro day, at which he posted a 40-inch vertical jump, a 4.58 40-yard dash and 22 bench press repetitions.[20][21][22] Afterwards, he was invited to attend local pro days with the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and New York Jets.[23] He was projected as either a late-round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft or a priority undrafted free agent.[23] Buchanan ended up going unselected in the draft.[24] He was afterwards invited to the rookie minicamp of the Pittsburgh Steelers.[25]

St. Louis Battlehawks

On June 16, 2023, Buchanan was selected by the St. Louis Battlehawks in the XFL's Rookie Draft.[26] He signed a letter of intent on October 18, 2023.[27]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Reported as 140 in the Asbury Park Press, 139 on Patch.com, 145 on the University of Delaware website.[1][8][9]
  2. ↑ The Delaware website records 500 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, while the Asbury Park Press reported 433 yards and 12 touchdowns.[1][8]
  3. ↑ The Delaware website lists 1,400 rushing yards and 130 tackles with four sacks, while the Asbury Park Press reported 1,393 rushing yards, 121 tackles and three sacks.[1][10]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Johnny Buchanan". Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens.
  2. 1 2 Carney, Josh (April 17, 2023). "2023 NFL Draft Player Profiles: Delaware LB Johnny Buchanan". SteelersDepot.com.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Tresolini, Kevin (August 7, 2019). "Next Man Up: Delaware's Buchanan is ready to fill the void left at linebacker". The News Journal. p. C1, C3 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ↑ "Joe Auer Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  5. 1 2 Tesolini, Kevin (November 4, 2022). "UD football has nation's top tackler; can he stop nation's top rusher?". The News Journal. p. B1, B7 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ↑ Rotolo, Chris (November 17, 2016). "SJV's Buchanan a heavy hitter". Asbury Park Press. p. C1, C3 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. 1 2 3 Melvin, Chris (August 22, 2021). "These bruisers brought the boom". Asbury Park Press. p. B5, B8 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. 1 2 3 4 Rotolo, Chris (September 7, 2017). "Buchanan set to be a double threat". Asbury Park Press. p. F16 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  9. 1 2 Williams, Carol (December 20, 2017). "SJV's Johnny Buchanan Headed To University Of Delaware". Patch.com.
  10. 1 2 Falk, Steve (December 17, 2017). "All-Shore: Football: Defense". Asbury Park Press. p. C11 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. 1 2 "Johnny Buchanan Stats". The Football Database.
  12. ↑ "Knight, Buchanan TDs lift Delaware over Stony Brook 17-10". CBS Sports. Associated Press. November 16, 2019.
  13. ↑ Tresolini, Kevin (April 21, 2021). "UD football places 7 on all-conference first team, including offensive player of the year". The News Journal.
  14. ↑ "Roundup: Delaware State University puts 17 football players on All-MEAC". Delaware State News. November 23, 2021.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Quattro, Jackie (April 4, 2023). "Eagles news: Philadelphia invites Delaware linebacker to local pro day". FanSided.
  16. ↑ Nuanez, Colter (January 7, 2023). "Illinois State's Vandenburgh wins Stats Perform Buck Buchanan Award". Skyline Sports.
  17. ↑ Washburn, Rob (September 5, 2022). "Delaware's Buchanan Honored As FedEx Ground FCS National Defensive Player Of the Week". Colonial Athletic Association.
  18. ↑ Walter, Andy (September 3, 2022). "Blue Hens give Carty a win over Navy in his debut as coach". Delaware State News.
  19. ↑ Buchanan, Johnny [@J_Buchanan_1] (December 7, 2022). "All glory to God. Time to go get it" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. ↑ Erby, Glenn (April 1, 2023). "Report: Delaware linebacker Johnny Buchanan to participate in Eagles' local pro day". USA Today.
  21. ↑ Alessandrini, Nick (March 23, 2023). "9 participate in Delaware football Pro-Day". Milford LIVE.
  22. ↑ Fowler, Ryan (March 27, 2023). "NFL Draft 2023: 13 Pro Day Standouts You Need To Know". The Draft Network.
  23. 1 2 Benton, Dan (April 2, 2023). "Delaware LB Johnny Buchanan will attend Giants' local pro day". USA Today.
  24. ↑ Reardon, Logan (April 29, 2023). "Full list of every pick from the 2023 NFL Draft". NBC Sports.
  25. ↑ Carney, Josh (May 10, 2023). "Delaware LB Johnny Buchanan Invited To Steelers Rookie Minicamp". SteelersDepot.com.
  26. ↑ "St. Louis Battlehawks Select 10 Players in XFL Rookie Draft". OurSports Central. June 16, 2023. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  27. ↑ "XFL Transactions". XFL.com. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
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