November 18, 2016 PREVIOUS AWARD WINNERS FINALISTS NAMED FOR GENE UPSHAW DIVISION II LINEMAN OF THE YEAR • 2015 - Matt Judon, Grand Valley State AWARD • 2014 - Darius Allen, Colorado State-Pueblo • 2013 - Darius Allen, Colorado State-Pueblo MANHEIM, Pa. – Regional voting narrowed a field of 51 candidates to eight finalists for the • 2012 - Garth Heikkinen, Minnesota-Duluth • 2011 - Joe Long, Wayne State 2016 Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award. The finalists include four defensive • 2010 - Brandon Fusco, Slippery Rock linemen and four offensive lineman. Four of the eight finalists play for teams that reached the • 2009 - Ben Staggs, West Liberty NCAA Division II Tournament, which begins on Nov. 19. • 2008 - Sam Collins, Abilene Christian • 2007 - Brandon Barnes, Grand Valley State The award is presented by the Manheim Touchdown Club and voted upon by the nation’s • 2006 - Mike McFadden, Grand Valley State NCAA Division II sports information directors. Two finalists advance from each of the four • 2005 - Mike McFadden, Grand Valley State NCAA Division II super regions. • 2004 - Nathan Baker, Pittsburg State Representing Super Region 1 is Slippery Rock defensive end Marcus Martin, giving The Rock a SUPER REGION CHAIRS national finalist for the third season in a row. Joining Martin from Super Region 1 is Kutztown Super Region 1: Doug Spatafor (Lock Haven) offensive tackle Jordan Morgan. Super Region 2 finalists include West Georgia defensive end E-Mail: [email protected] Dylan Donahue, who is a national finalist for the second year in a row. He is joined by North Super Region 2: Dom Donnelly (Tusculum) Alabama offensive tackle Stephen Evans. Advancing from Super Region 3 are Sioux Falls E-Mail: [email protected] offensive guard Antonio Green and Minnesota Duluth offensive tackle Peter Bateman. Super Super Region 3: Tim Evans (Augustana) Region 4 is represented by Grand Valley State defensive end Sydney Omameh and McKendree E-Mail: [email protected] defensive end Lucky Baar. Grand Valley State has produced four Gene Upshaw Award winners Super Region 4: Brian Kortz (Western New Mexico) including 2015 winner Matt Judon. (Bios on each player on page 2) E-Mail: [email protected] Evans (North Alabama) and Omameh (Grand Valley State) play for teams that received No. NATIONAL CHAIRMAN 1 seeds in the NCAA playoffs and will take the field on Nov. 26 after an opening round bye. Ethan Hulsey (Millersville) Bateman (Minnesota-Duluth) and Green (Sioux Falls) are in the Super Region 3 bracket. E-Mail: [email protected] The national round of voting begins on Monday, Nov. 21 and closes on Monday Nov. 28. The win- ner will be announced on Wednesday, Nov. 30. The award recipient has an invitation to participate DATES TO REMEMBER Monday, Nov. 21, 8 a.m. EST in front of professional scouts and coaches at the East-West Shrine Game in St. Petersburg, Fla. National ballot available for voting online at The winner will also be recognized at the Manheim Touchdown Club’s annual banquet in May. www.manheimtouchdownclub.com. The NFL recognizes, endorses and supports the winner of the award by guaranteeing a place in Monday, Nov. 28, 6 p.m. EST National voting closes. the all-star games. The support comes as recognition and appreciation for the late Mr. Upshaw, who was not only an All-Pro lineman for the Oakland Raiders, but later served as the executive Wednesday, Nov. 30 director of the NFL Players Association for 25 years. Upshaw, a former standout offensive line- Announcement of Gene Upshaw Award winner man at Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M Kingsville), was inducted into the Pro Football Saturday, Jan. 21 Hall of Fame in 1987 in his first year of eligibility. East-West Shrine Game LUCKY BAAR PETER BATEMAN DYLAN DONAHUE STEPHEN EVANS ANTONIO GREEN MARCUS MARTIN JORDAN MORGAN SYDNEY OMAMEH McKendree Minnesota Duluth West Georgia North Alabama Sioux Falls Slippery Rock Kutztown Grand Valley State Defensive End Offensive Tackle Defensive End Offensive Tackle Offensive Guard Defensive End Offensive Tackle Defensive End FINALIST INFORMATION Lucky Baar (McKendree, DE, Sr., Chicago, Ill.) The all-time leader in Division II history with 46 ½ career sacks, Baar leads all of Division II with 17 ½ sacks (1.94 per game) in 2016. Baar’s 21 ½ tackles for loss ranks third in Division II this season. Baar, a former GLVC Defensive Player of the Year, Baar is a three-time All-GLVC selection and the program’s career leader in tackles for loss (65 ½) and forced fumbles. He was an AP Little All-America First Team pick in 2014 after leading the nation with 18 sacks. In 2016, Baar helped McKendree to an 8-3 record and powered a defense that ranked in the top 25 nationally in both scoring and total defense. Peter Bateman (Minnesota Duluth, OT, Sr., La Crescent, Minn.) Rated as the No. 1 offensive tackle in NCAA Division II prior to the season by HERO Sports and a voted a D2football.com Preseason All-American, Bateman is the first Minnesota Duluth offensive lineman to earn All-NSIC honors four times. While starting all 50 games over four seasons, Bateman has allowed just one sack in his career. He has helped the Bulldogs to a 43-7 record in that span. Bateman paves the way for an offense that ranks second nationally in yards per game, second in first downs and fifth in scoring. Coaches have graded him at 92 percent or better in all 11 games this season. His Bulldogs own a 10-1 record, won the NSIC North Division and are in the NCAA playoffs for the third time in his four seasons. Dylan Donahue (West Georgia, DE, Sr., Billings, Mont.) A Gene Upshaw Award finalist for the second consecutive season, Donahue led the Gulf South Conference (GSC) and tied for third in Division II with 14 ½ sacks. He also led the conference and ranked among the national leaders with 21 tackles for loss. Donahue became just the third player in West Georgia history to be named the GSC Defensive Player of the Year, and he is two-time All-GSC First team selection. Donahue, now with 26 ½ sacks in two seasons at West Georgia, was named AP Little All-America Second Team as a junior in 2015. Stephen Evans (North Alabama, LT, Sr., Boston, Mass.) A two-time All-Gulf South Conference First Team selection and 2015 All-America selection, Evans helped North Alabama to an 8-0 record against Division II competition, a fourth consecutive Gulf South Conference title and the No. 1 seed in NCAA Super Region 2. Evans pro- tected the blindside of the GSC Offensive Player of the Year and helped the offense average 40.2 points and 431.8 yards per game. It is his first season playing left tackle after being named All-America as a guard. Antonio Green (Sioux Falls, G, Sr., Dublin, Ga.) A three-time All-NSIC First Team selection and Lindy’s Sports Preseason All-American, Green has not allowed a sack in his last two seasons. In 2016, his coaches graded him at 87.4 with 80.5 knockdown blocks. With Green leading the line, the Cougars rank third in Division II in rushing yards and third in total offense with 532 yards per game. Green’s Cougars are ranked No. 4 in Division II with an 11-0 record, win- ning the NSIC Championship and enter the NCAA Division II Playoffs as a No. 2 seed. Marcus Martin (Slippery Rock, DE, RJr., West Mifflin, Pa.) The PSAC’s career leader for sacks and tackles for loss continued his record-setting career in 2016 by totaling 18 ½ tackles for loss and nine sacks for The Rock. He piled up these numbers despite facing the nation’s seventh-toughest strength of schedule and was named the PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year. Martin is now ranked sixth in Division II history in career sacks (40 ½), 6.0 off the Division II record, and is just 11.0 TFL shy of the national record. An All-PSAC West First Team selection for the third consecutive sea- son, Martin was tabbed the Lindy’s Sports Preseason Division II Defensive Player of the year. He was the 2015 PSAC West and Super Region 1 Defensive Player of the Year and the 2014 PSAC West and Super Region 1 Freshman of the Year. Jordan Morgan (Kutztown, LT, Sr., Philadelphia, Pa.) The first offensive lineman in the history of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) to be named a division offensive player of the year, Morgan helped pave the way to a school record rushing performance in 2016 and anchored a line that allowed just 1.27 sacks per game. The Morgan-led offensive line set a school record for consecutive games not allowing a sack. The only player in Division II to have already accepted a bid to the Senior Bowl, Morgan was a consensus preseason All-America selection prior to the 2016 season. In 2015, he was named AP Little All-America. He is a three-time All-PSAC East First Team pick and a two-time team captain. With Morgan’s help, Kutztown went 7-0 in the PSAC East, winning the division for the third time in program history. Syndney Omameh (Grand Valley State, DE, Sr., Columbus, Ohio) Omameh made quite an impact in his first season at Grand Valley State, leading the 11-0 Lakers and ranking second in the GLIAC with 10 ½ sacks. Omameh tallied 12 ½ tackles for loss, blocked two kicks, recovered two fumbles and forced another. A three-time All-GLIAC selec- tion, Omameh was named to the second team in 2016.