D'Anta Johnson: DL · East Carolina · #56.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
D'Anta Johnson
Wins the gap play after play. Fifth year in the same defensive front at East Carolina. The first one came in 2023: All-AAC. One game to point at: 5 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Norfolk State — Week 1, 2024.
Play style
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
38 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 6.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | East Carolina | 38 | 12 | 6.5 | 0.5 | -- |
| 2023 | East Carolina | 33 | 15 | 9.0 | 4.0 | -- |
| 2022 | East Carolina | 18 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 |
| 2021 | East Carolina | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| 2020 | East Carolina | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | -- |
| Career | 92 | 33 | 17.5 | 5.5 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 42-3vs Norfolk State | 5 | 0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 20-14@ Old Dominion | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 19-21vs App State | 3 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 24-35@ Liberty | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 30-20vs UTSA | 4 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 24-55@ Charlotte | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 28-45@ No. 23 Army | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 56-34vs Temple | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 38-31@ Tulsa | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 40-28@ North Texas | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | L 20-34vs Navy | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | W 26-21vs NC State | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 38 | 12 | 6.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
17%6 TFLSack rate
1%0 sacksHurry rate
3%1 hurry38 tackles · 6.5 for loss · 0.5 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 3.2 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Road6g | 3.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 3.6 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Houston
Pass share
47.9%
427 pass / 465 run
Plays / game
68.6
13 games
Team sack rate
4.5%
448 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2024
38 tackles in 12 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive lineman who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #145 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons at East Carolina, 6 sacks — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AAC · 2ND TEAM
All-AAC 2nd team (2023)
Coaching lineage · 2020–2024
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Mike Houston → Blake Harrell. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
