NOVEMBER 28, 2018 2018 HARLON HILL FINALISTS ANNOUNCED NINE FINALISTS NAMED FOR HARLON HILL TROPHY AS DIVISION II FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Following regional voting, the Little Rock Touchdown Club, in conjunction with the Great American Conference, revealed the nine finalists for the 2018 Harlon Hill Trophy, the NCAA Division II College Football Player of the Year. The NCAA Division II sports information directors selected the finalists through a round of regional voting. The nine finalists will now be placed on the national ballot where all 166 of the division’s SIDs will select the award’s 33rd winner. The top two players from Super Region 1, Super Region 2 and Super Region 4 advanced to the national ballot, while Super Region 3 saw three players make the final ballot, due to a tie in the voting. Five quarterbacks, two running backs, one wide receiver and a defensive end comprised the list of 2018 finalists. Notre Dame College freshman running back Jaleel McLaughlin and Hillsdale senior quarterback Chance Stewart advanced from Super Region #1. Two quarterbacks - Bowie State senior Amir Hall and Valdosta State sophomore Rogan Wells moved on from Super Region #2. A pair of signal callers - Ferris State junior Jayru Campbell and Emporia State senior Braxton Marstall - joined Southern Arkansas senior receiver Ka’Ronce Higgins as the finalists from Super Region #3. Super Region #4 produced the only set of finalists without a quarterback as Angelo State senior defensive end Markus Jones and Sioux Falls junior running back Gabriel Watson earned spots on the national ballot. Five of the finalists helped guide their teams into the 2018 NCAA Division II playoffs and three - McLaughlin, Campbell and Wells - will compete in this weekend’s quarterfinal matchups. The winner of the 2018 award will be announced on Friday, December 14 and the winner will be honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club awards banquet on January 10, 2019. The Hill Trophy is named for the late Harlon Hill - the former Uni- Eric Moyer • Media Contact versity of North Alabama standout - who excelled with the Lions (479) 747-7255 from 1950-53 before going on to fame in the National Football [email protected] League with the Chicago Bears.
GreatAmericanConference.com LRTouchdown.com NOVEMBER 28, 2018 2018 HARLON HILL FINALISTS ANNOUNCED 2018 HARLON HILL TROPHY FINALISTS
SUPER REGIONAL 1 Pos. School Cl Hometown Jaleel McLaughlin RB Notre Dame College Fr. Marshville, North Carolina • Fourth Freshman ever named a Hill Finalist, first since 2010; leads Division II with 2,074 yards
Chance Stewart QB Hillsdale Sr. Sturgis, Michigan • Ranks third in Division II with 3,588 passing yards and fourth with 3,799 yards of total offense
SUPER REGIONAL 2 Pos. School Cl Hometown Amir Hall QB Bowie State Sr. Bowie, Maryland • Leads nation with 4,152 passing yards and 4,597 yards of total offense; accounted for 38 TDs
Rogan Wells QB Valdosta State So. Fort Mill, South Carolina • Fourth in Division II with 40 total touchdowns (30 pass, 10 rush); 30-4 touchdown-INT ratio
SUPER REGIONAL 3 Pos. School Cl Hometown Jayru Campbell QB Ferris State Jr. Detroit, Michigan • Leads nation with 44 total TDs (23 pass, 21 rush); 2,453 passing yards and 1,188 rushing yards
Ka’Ronce Higgins WR Southern Arkansas Sr. Searcy, Arkansas • Leads GAC in receiving yards and all-purpose yards; Unanimous First-Team All-GAC Selection
Braxton Marstall QB Emporia State Sr Emporia, Kansas • 3,136 yards of total offense; Ranks 10th in Division II touchdowns responsible for with 33
SUPER REGIONAL 4 Pos. School Cl Hometown Markus Jones DE Angelo State Sr. Fort Worth, Texas • 11th Defensive Player all-time named Harlon Hill Finalist; Leads nation with 34.0 Tackles For Loss
Gabriel Watson RB Sioux Falls Jr. Piedmont, California • Leads Division II with 26 rushing touchdowns; Second in Division II with 1,957 rushing yards
GreatAmericanConference.com LRTouchdown.com NOVEMBER 28, 2018 2018 HARLON HILL FINALISTS ANNOUNCED ALL-TIME HARLON HILL TROPHY WINNERS Year Player Pos. School Points 1986 Jeff Bentrim QB North Dakota State 133 1987 Johnny Bailey RB Texas A&M - Kingsville 106 1988 Johnny Bailey RB Texas A&M - Kingsville 158 1989 Johnny Bailey RB Texas A&M - Kingsville 182 1990 Chris Simdorn QB North Dakota State 123 1991 Ronnie West WR Pittsburg State 109 1992 Ronald Moore RB Pittsburg State 148 1993 Roger Graham RB New Haven 160 1994 Chris Hatcher QB Valdosta State 209 1995 Ronald McKinnon LB North Alabama 188 1996 Jarrett Anderson TB Truman State 207 1997 Irvin Sigler TB Bloomsburg 208 1998 Brian Shay RB Emporia State 303 1999 Corte McGuffey QB Northern Colorado 205 2000 Dusty Bonner QB Valdosta State 156 2001 Dusty Bonner QB Valdosta State 209 2002 Curt Anes QB Grand Valley State 271 2003 Will Hall QB North Alabama 150 2004 Chad Friehauf QB Colorado School of Mines 194 2005 Jimmy Terwilliger QB East Stroudsburg 121 2006 Danny Woodhead RB Chadron State College 187 2007 Danny Woodhead RB Chadron State College 175 2008 Bernard Scott RB Abilene Christian 253 2009 Joique Bell RB Wayne State (Mich.) 138 2010 Eric Czerniewski QB Central Missouri 164 2011 Jonas Randolph RB Mars Hill College 120 2012 Zach Zulli QB Shippensburg 202 2013 Franklyn Quiteh RB Bloomsburg 182 2014 Jason Vander Laan QB Ferris State 152 2015 Jason Vander Laan QB Ferris State 200 2016 Justin Dvorak QB Colorado School of Mines 185 2017 Luis Perez QB Texas A&M - Commerce 198
TOP THREE FINISHES BY POSITION Tot 1st 2nd 3rd Quarterback 50 16 20 14 Running Back 38 14 11 13 Receiver 5 1 2 2 Linebackers 2 1 - 1 Defensive End 1 - - 1
GreatAmericanConference.com LRTouchdown.com NOVEMBER 28, 2018 2018 HARLON HILL FINALISTS ANNOUNCED ALL-TIME HARLON HILL FINALISTS - BY CONFERENCE (1986-2017)
Conference 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Total GSC 5 4 5 1 3 6 3 3 6 1 37 PSAC 4 3 5 3 8 6 3 3 2 0 37 GLIAC 4 3 2 0 7 1 7 2 0 0 25 Lone Star 4 2 3 2 4 2 5 2 1 0 24 North Central 3 3 6 3 3 2 2 2 0 0 24 MIAA 5 4 2 3 0 2 1 3 1 0 21 SAC 1 0 0 5 0 2 2 3 1 0 14 RMAC 4 1 1 0 0 2 1 3 0 0 12 Western Football 0 1 1 2 1 1 0 2 0 0 9 SIAC 0 2 0 1 0 1 2 1 0 0 7 WVIAC/MEC 0 2 1 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 7 NSIC 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 2 0 0 6 CIAA 0 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 5 Northeast 10 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 5 GAC 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 GNAC 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Eastern Football 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Columbia 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Independent 1 2 2 5 1 1 2 1 1 0 16 SCHOOLS WITH MULTIPLE HILL WINNERS
TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE (3) NORTH ALABAMA (2) Johnny Bailey (1987-89) Will Hall (2003) Ronald McKinnon (1995) VALDOSTA STATE (3) Dusty Bonner (2000-01) NORTH DAKOTA STATE (2) Chris Hatcher (1994) Chris Simdorn (1990) Jeff Bentrim (1986) CHADRON STATE (2) Danny Woodhead (2006-07) BLOOMSBURG (2) Franklyn Quiteh (2013) PITTSBURG STATE (2) Irvin Sigler (1997) Ronald Moore (1992) Ronnie West (1991) COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES (2) Justin Dvorak (2016) Chad Friehauf (2004)
GreatAmericanConference.com LRTouchdown.com NOVEMBER 28, 2018 2018 HARLON HILL FINALISTS ANNOUNCED ALL-TIME HILL FINALISTS -BY SCHOOL Abilene Christian California-Pennsylvania Edinboro Rex Lamberti 7th 1993 Robert McDonough 8th 1986 Elbert Cole 3rd 1989 Bernard Scott 2nd 2007 Garry Brown 6th 2016 Ernest Priester 2nd 1990 Bernard Scott 1st 2008 Trevor Harris 8th 2008 Mitchell Gale 5th 2010 California State-Northridge Trevor Harris 9th 2009 Albert Fann 4th 1990 Alabama A&M Emporia State Barry Wagner 2nd 1989 Carson-Newman Brian Shay 2nd 1997 Tyrone Westmoreland 4th 1997 Brian Shay 1st 1998 Albany State Leonard Guyton 4th 2002 Brent Wilson 4th 2015 Alton Pettway 7th 2006 Andy Hibbett 8th 2014 Braxton Marshall --- 2018 Damian Baker 8th 2015 American International Ferris State Kavin Gailliard 2nd 1999 Central Florida Dave Denbraber 7th 1987 Bernard Ford 3rd 1987 Monty Brown 5th 1992 Angelo State Bill Love 2nd 1995 Greg Stokes 6th 1995 Central Arkansas Clarence Coleman 5th 2001 Erik Hartman 6th 1997 Zak Clark T5th 2002 Jason Vander Laan 1st 2014 Markus Jones --- 2018 Jason Vander Laan 1st 2015 Central Missouri Jayru Campbell --- 2018 Arkansas-Monticello Eric Czerniewski 1st 2010 Anthony Giovingo 8th 1998 Brook Bolles 8th 2017 Fort Valley State Cory Allred 6th 2004 Derrick Wimbush 2nd 2004 Central Oklahoma Arkansas Tech Joe Aska 3rd 1994 Gannon Nick Graziano 3rd 2009 Reggie Donner 5th 1998 Marc Jones 2nd 2017 J.T. Luper 6th 2017 Ashland Grand Valley State Taylor Housewright 5th 2012 Central Washington Eric Lynch T6th 1990 Mike Reilly T2nd 2008 Eric Lynch 8th 1991 Augustana Jeff Fox 3rd 1998 Trey Heid 4th 2016 Chadron State Curt Anes 2nd 2001 David Jones T6th 1990 Curt Anes 1st 2002 Bentley Matt Strand 8th 2001 Cullen Finnerty 2nd 2006 Marc Eddy 8th 2004 Danny Woodhead 1st 2006 Brad Iciek 7th 2007 Danny Woodhead 1st 2007 Brad Iciek 5th 2008 Bloomsburg Glen Clinton 7th 2013 Brad Iciek T4th 2009 Jay DeDea 5th 1987 Marty Carter 5th 2016 Irvin Sigler 1st 1997 Colorado School of Mines Jamar Brittingham 3rd 2005 Chad Friehauf 1st 2004 Harding Jamar Brittingham 6th 2007 Clay Garcia 8th 2010 David Knighton 8th 2007 Franklyn Quiteh 6th 2010 Justin Dvorak 1st 2016 Franklyn Quiteh 3rd 2012 Henderson State Franklyn Quiteh 1st 2013 Colorado State-Pueblo Nick Hardesty 9th 2010 Cameron McDondle 3rd 2015 Kevin Rodgers 6th 2012 Bowie State Kevin Rodgers 3rd 2013 Amir Hall 5th 2017 Delta State Kevin Rodgers 2nd 2014 Amir Hall --- 2018 Tregnel Thomas 7th 1996 Scott Eyster 8th 2005 Hillsdale Bryant Scott Eyster 5th 2006 Joe Glendening 7th 2011 Lorenzo Perry 8th 2006 Michael Eubanks 3rd 2007 Chance Stewart --- 2018 Micah Davis 3rd 2011 Butler Tyler Sullivan 9th 2014 Humboldt State Steve Roberts 8th 1988 Ja’Quan Gardner 2nd 2015 Steve Roberts 5th 1989 East Stroudsburg Ja’Quan Gardner 7th 2017 Dennis Mailhot 9th 1989 California-Davis Damian Poalucci 3rd 1996 Indiana-Pennsylvania Mark Grieb 8th 1996 Jimmy Terwilliger 5th 2004 Andrew “Jai” Hill 9th 1990 Kevin Daft 7th 1998 Jimmy Terwilliger 1st 2005 Tony Aliucci 2nd 1991 J.T. O’Sullivan 4th 2000 Jimmy Terwilliger 4th 2006 Michael Mann 5th 1993 J.T. O’Sullivan 4th 2001 Matt Soltes 5th 2015 Michael Oliva 7th 2002 Jacksonville State David Gulledge 7th 1989 David Gulledge 5th 1990 GreatAmericanConference.com LRTouchdown.com NOVEMBER 28, 2018 2018 HARLON HILL FINALISTS ANNOUNCED ALL-TIME HILL FINALISTS -BY SCHOOL Kutztown New Haven Pittsburg State Paul Magistro 7th 1986 Ken Suhl 4th 1992 Ronnie West 1st 1991 Mark Steinmeyer 4th 1991 Roger Graham 1st 1993 Ronald Moore 1st 1992 Andy Breault 9th 1992 Roger Graham 2nd 1994 Germaine Race 4th 2005 Jesse Showerda 4th 1996 Germaine Race 3rd 2006 Lake Erie Cazzie Kosciolek 3rd 1997 Anthony Abenoja 4th 2014 Anthony Bilal 3rd 2014 New Mexico Highlands Portland State Lenoir-Rhyne Conan Smith 8th 1997 Chris Crawford 4th 1987 Leonard Davis 4th 1994 Chris Crawford 2nd 1988 North Alabama Darren Del’Andrae 6th 1989 LIU-Post Tyrone Rush 6th 1992 John Charles 3rd 1992 Ian Smart 2nd 2002 Tyrone Rush 2nd 1993 Bill Matos 8th 1993 Steven Laurino 6th 2014 Ronald McKinnon 1st 1995 Steve Papin 3rd 1995 Will Hall 1st 2003 Mansfield Anthony Merritt 6th 2005 Presbyterian Dan Holland 4th 2003 A.J. Milwee 9th 2007 Todd Cunningham 7th 1999 A.J. Milwee T2nd 2008 Todd Cunningham 6th 2001 Mars Hill Harrison Beck 6th 2009 Jonas Randolph 1st 2011 Lee Chapple 9th 2011 Sacramento State Luke Wingo 6th 2015 Troy Mills 5th 1991 Michigan Tech Jacob Tucker 3rd 2016 Dave Walter 4th 1986 Saginaw Valley State Lee Marana 7th 2004 North Carolina Central Mark Radlinski 6th 2003 Phil Milbrath 7th 2010 Earl Harvey 5th 1986 Earl Harvey 3rd 1988 St. Cloud State Midwestern State Harry Jackson 4th 1989 Phillip Boggs 9th 2002 North Carolina-Pembroke Randy Martin 8th 1995 Zack Eskridge 7th 2009 Luke Charles 9th 2013 Randy Martin 6th 1996 Brandon Kelsey 4th 2011 Keith Heckendorf 3rd 2002 North Dakota Keith Heckendorf 2nd 2003 Millersville Shannon Burnell 8th 1992 Kevin Cannon 5th 1995 Phillip Moore 5th 1997 Santa Clara Drew Folmar 8th 2000 Digger Anderson 5th 2005 Greg Calgano 8th 1987 Weston Dressler 5th 2007 Minnesota-Duluth Savannah State Ted Schlafke 4th 2008 North Dakota State Shannon Sharpe 8th 1989 Isaac Odim T4th 2009 Jeff Bentrim 1st 1986 Chris Simdorm 1st 1990 Sioux Falls Minnesota State Lamar Gordon 3rd 2000 Gabriel Watson --- 2018 Jamie Pass 3rd 1993 Josh Nelson 7th 1994 Northeastern State Southeastern Oklahoma State Jon Wolf 6th 2013 Carlton Booe 8th 1999 Drew Beard 8th 2003 Drew Beard 3rd 2004 Mississippi College Northern Colorado Fred McAfee 3rd 1990 Mark Sedinger 4th 1988 Shepherd Greg Tucker 7th 1991 Damian Beane 4th 1998 Missouri Southern State Corte McGuffey 2nd 1998 Damian Beane 3rd 1999 Rod Smith 6th 1993 Corte McGuffey 1st 1999 Dervon Wallace 4th 2007 Jeff Ziemba 7th 2015 Missouri Western State Northwest Missouri State Jeff Ziemba 7th 2016 John Fisher 7th 1995 Tony Miles 6th 2000 Connor Jessop 4th 2017 Michael Hill 2nd 2012 LaRon Council 8th 2009 Blake Bolles 3rd 2010 Shippensburg Nebraska-Kearney Kyle Zimmerman 2nd 2016 Zach Zulli 1st 2012 Justin Coleman 6th 1999 Justin Coleman 2nd 2000 Notre Dame Colle Slippery Rock Jake Spitzlberger 6th 2011 Jaleel McLaughlin --- 2018 Greg Paterra T5th 1988 Randy McKavish 7th 2000 Nebraska-Omaha Ohio Dominican Marcus Martin 3rd 2017 Justin Kammrad 3rd 2003 Mark Miller 7th 2014 South Dakota Newberry Wesley Beschorner 2nd 2005 Raleigh Yeldell 9th 2016 Stefan Logan 6th 2006 GreatAmericanConference.com LRTouchdown.com NOVEMBER 28, 2018 2018 HARLON HILL FINALISTS ANNOUNCED ALL-TIME HILL FINALISTS -BY SCHOOL South Dakota State Washburn Jeff Tiefenthaler 3rd 1986 Dane Simoneau 2nd 2011 Josh Ranek 4th 1999 Josh Ranek 3rd 2001 Wayne State (Mich.) Joique Bell 1st 2009 Southern Arkansas Ka’Ronce Higgins --- 2018 West Alabama Harry Satterwhite 10th 2017 Southern Connecticut State Rashaad Slowley 8th 2011 West Chester Al Niemela 6th 1987 Southwest Minnesota State Bill Hess T5th 1988 Tyler Tonderum 8th 2013 Dave McDonald 6th 1994 Michael Washington 7th 2008 Tarleton State Rondell White 5th 2013 Cliff Watkins 7th 2003 Sean McCartney 5th 2014
Tennessee-Martin West Georgia Emanuel McNeil 7th 1988 Devontae Jackson 8th 2017
Texas A&M-Commerce West Liberty Luis Perez 1st 2017 Zach Amedro 2nd 2009 Zach Amedro 2nd 2010 Texas A&M-Kingsville (formerly Texas A&I) Johnny Bailey 2nd 1986 West Texas A&M Johnny Bailey 1st 1987 Grady Benton 5th 1994 Johnny Bailey 1st 1988 Dalton Bell 7th 2005 Johnny Bailey 1st 1989 Dustin Vaughan 4th 2012 Earl Dotson 7th 1992 Dustin Vaughn 2nd 2013 Todd Perkins 5th 1996 Abel Gonzalez T5th 2002 West Virginia Wesleyan Adam Neugebauer 5th 2011 Troy Mike Turk 6th 1986 Western State Colorado Mike Turk 2nd 1987 Austin Ekeler 8th 2016
Truman State (formerly Northeast Missouri State) Western Washington Jeff Frost 8th 1990 Scott Mitchell 7th 2001 Jarrett Anderson 8th 1994 Jarrett Anderson 1st 1996 Wingate Eric Howe 9th 2001 Tracy Bowen 7th 1997 Chris Bowden 8th 2012 Tusculum Ricardo Colclough 5th 2003 Winona State Corey Russell 6th 2008 Kevin Curtin 8th 2002 Bo Cordell 4th 2010 Chris Samp 4th 2004 Bo Cordell 4th 2013 Winston-Salem State Tuskegee Richard Huntley 4th 1995 Maurice Heard 6th 1991 Derrick Washington 7th 2012 Wofford College Shawn Graves 3rd 1991 Valdosta State Shawn Graves 2nd 1992 Chris Hatcher 4th 1993 Chris Hatcher 1st 1994 * 109 different schools have had at least one Lance Funderburk 2nd 1996 Hill finalist since 1986, with North Alabama Dusty Bonner 1st 2000 having produced the most with 11. Dusty Bonner 1st 2001 Rogan Wells --- 2018
Virginia State Damon Thompson T5th 1998 Damon Thompson 5th 1999 Damon Thompson 5th 2000 GreatAmericanConference.com LRTouchdown.com NOVEMBER 28, 2018 2018 HARLON HILL FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
Jaleel McLaughlin - RB - Notre Dame College Chance Stewart - QB - Hillsdale Amir Hall - QB - Bowie State
Rogan Wells - QB - Valdosta State Jayru Campbell - QB - Ferris State Ka’Ronce Higgins - WR - Southern Arkansas
Braxton Marstall - QB - Emporia State Markus Jones - DE - Angelo State Gabriel Watson - RB - Sioux Falls GreatAmericanConference.com LRTouchdown.com