Douglas and Johnson Accept Bowl Game Invitations

Liberty’s Demario Douglas and Durrell Johnson will have the opportunity to showcase their talents before NFL scouts in the coming months.

Following their standout careers at Liberty, Douglas has accepted an invitation to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl, while Johnson will play in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

The East-West Shrine Bowl will be played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on February 2, 2023. The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl will be contested at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on January 28, 2023.

Following a four-year career at Liberty, Douglas declared himself eligible for the NFL Draft after Liberty’s appearance in the 2022 RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl earlier this week.

The wide receiver finished his days in a Liberty uniform with 172 career receptions for 2,193 yards and 16 touchdowns. During his final season at Liberty, Douglas missed posting 1,000 yards by seven, ending the 2022 campaign with 79 receptions for 993 yards.

The native of Jacksonville, Fla., finished his career with a program record 54 career punt returns, including a pair of punt returns for a touchdown.

Douglas currently ranks No. 19 in the country in receptions per game (6.1), No. 28 in receiving yards (993) and No. 36 in all-purpose yards (112.54 per game).

He was named a 2020 FWAA Freshman All-American as a punt returner and was named to the Paul Hornung Award watch list in 2021 and 2022 (most versatile player in college football).

After transferring to Liberty for the 2020 season, Johnson’s three years on the Mountain ended with a national leading and program record-setting season in 2022.

The All-America defensive end finished the 2022 season with 27.5 tackles for a loss, besting the previous record of 25.0 TFLs set by Jason Wells in 2000. He also finished his career tied for No. 1 in program history with 45.0 tackles for a loss with Aaron DeBerry (2000-03).

The native of Baltimore, Md., currently ranks No. 1 in the country with 27.5 tackles for a loss in 2022 and is one of three players in the country with 20+ TFLs in 2022 (Cincinnati’s Ivan Pace, Jr. – 21.5; USC’s Tuli Tuiputotu – 21.0).

During his three-year career with the Flames, Johnson recorded 121 tackles (80 solo, 41 assisted), 17.5 sacks, six passes defended, three fumble recoveries and two force fumble.

Johnson was named to the Phil Steele Postseason All-America teams in 2020 (fourth team) and 2022 (third team). He was 2022 Walter Camp All-America second team.