2013 Cliff Harris Award Finalists Announced
December 22, 2013
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas – The Little Rock Touchdown Club and Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP announced the inaugural Cliff Harris Award nominee list today. The Cliff Harris Award will be presented annually to the top small college defensive football player in the country representing almost 500 NCAA Division II, III and NAIA colleges and universities. Nominees and finalists from all three divisions and an overall winner will be chosen by head coaches and a prestigious selection committee of college and pro football greats. Finalists will be announced Dec. 4. The winner will be announced on Dec. 24 and honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club’s annual awards banquet in February 2014 featuring guest speaker Lou Holtz. The winner will receive the $3,000 Cliff Harris Award Trophy.
Division II
| Player | Classification | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darius Allen | JR | DL | Colorado State University-Pueblo |
| Justin Bell | SR | DB | Ohio Dominican University |
| Malcolm Butler | SR | DB | University of West Alabama |
| Casey Chin | SR | LB | Simon Fraser University |
| George Christas | JR | DB | Lock Haven |
| Jaycob Coleman | SR | DB | Carson-Newman |
| Quindell Dean | SR | LB | Slippery Rock University |
| Pierre Desir | SR | CB | Lindenwood University |
| Ethan Douglas | SR | LB | Upper Iowa University |
| Nate Dreiling | SR | ILB | Pittsburg State University |
| Jake Edmiston | SR | LB | Colorado Mesa |
| Chris Emesih | SR | LB | Missouri S&T |
| Carlos Fields, Jr | SR | OLB | Winston-Salem State University |
| Isaiah Fleming | JR | LB | Cheyney |
| Michael Green | SR | DB | Lenoir-Rhyne |
| Zach Greenwald | JR | DL | Kutztown University |
| Brian Harrington | JR | LB | Stonehill College |
| Howard Jones | SR | DE | Shepherd |
| Jamie Meder | SR | DT | Ashland University |
| Jake Metz | SR | DE | Shippensburg University |
| Zach Moore | SR | DE | Concordia-St. Paul |
| Jack Moro | SR | DB | St. Cloud State University |
| Shonquez Nelson | SR | DL | Saint Augustine's University |
| Donnie Owens | SR | DL | Winston-Salem State University |
| Antwion Patterson | SR | DL | Ouachita Baptist University |
| Chris Pope | SR | LB | Valdosta State |
| Daniel Riley | SR | DL | Harding |
| Chaz Robinson | SR | LB | Saint Augustine's University |
| Rush Seaver | JR | LB | Angelo State |
| Grant Singer | JR | LB | University of Mary |
| Keaton Stigger | SR | LB | Henderson State University |
| Bryan Thomson | JR | DL | East Stroudsburg University |
| Tyler Thornton | JR | FS | Azusa Pacific University |
| Charles Tuuau | JR | DL | Texas A&M University-Commerce |
| Curt/Chris Vandervest | SR | DL | University of Minnesota Duluth |
| Marquis Wadley | SR | LB | Tarleton State University |
| Larry Webster | SR | DE | Bloomsburg University |
| Ethan Westbrook | SR | DE | West Texas A&M |
| Ronell Williams | JR | LB | West Chester University (Pa.) |
| Joel Wimbley | SO | LB | Saint Joseph's College (IN) |
| Tyler Zimmer | JR | LB | Seton Hill University |
Division III
| Player | Classification | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ted Abriel | SR | DL | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
| Zach Bell | JR | DL | Millsaps College |
| Vincent Beltrano | SO | DB | University of Chicago |
| Erick Butler | JR | DL | Thomas More College |
| Andre Carter | SR | LB | LaGrange |
| Dominic Caruso | JR | LB | Rowan Univeristy |
| Silvio Diaz | SR | DL | University of Mary Hardin-Baylor |
| Dylan Dimter | SR | LB | Widener University |
| Ed Dobernig | SR | DB | Lake Forest College |
| Josh Doggett | JR | LB | Hampden-Sydney College |
| Brandon Fedorka | SR | DE | Waynesburg University |
| Nathan Fleming | SO | LB | Western New England University |
| Paul Forney | SR | LB | Emory & Henry College |
| Dominique Forrest | SR | LB | Linfield College |
| Frank Gaffney | JR | LB | Lebanon Valley College |
| Dominic Graham | SR | LB | Louisiana College |
| Jake Laux | SR | LB | MIT |
| Seth Mathis | SR | LB | Bethel University (Minn.) |
| Jack Nelson | JR | LB | Willamette University |
| Nelson Nwumeh | SR | LB | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Hugh O'Brien | JR | DL | SUNY Maritime College |
| Nathan Packard | SR | LB | Austin College |
| Dane Pallotto | JR | RB | Norwich University |
| Jordan Patterson | SR | LB | Pacific Lutheran University |
| Drew Peterson | SR | DB | Albright College |
| Keegan Phalen | JR | SS | Alfred State |
| Rob Ruggiero | SR | DL | Bridgewater State University |
| Danny Sampson | SR | DL | Central College |
| Cody Seibel | SR | LB | UW-Stevens Point |
| Caleb Shannon | FR | DB | Hendrix College |
| Tony Sierra | SR | DB | Defiance College |
| Cam Smith | SR | DB | St. Olaf |
| Hayden Stanton | SO | DL | Salve Regina |
| Jake Stilwell | SO | DL | Hanover College |
| Kolin Sullivan | SR | LB | Kenyon College |
| Adham Talaat | SR | DE/DT | Gallaudet University |
| David Ternes | JR | DB | Grinnell College |
| Jonathan Valentine | SR | DL | Ohio Wesleyan University |
| Jake Weddle | JR | LB | Mississippi College |
| Brendan Wengerter | SR | LB | Franklin & Marshall College |
| Dakota Winsor | JR | LB | Southern Virginia University |
| Kyle Wismer | SR | LB | University of Wisconsin-Whitewater |
NAIA
| Player | Classification | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sean Blomquist | JR | LB | Carroll College |
| Brady Bonte | SO | LB | Dakota Wesleyan University |
| Deron Bruce | JR | DL | Ottawa University |
| Joe Camacho | SR | LB | Mid America Nazerene |
| Zach Dolph | SR | LB | Saint Xavier University |
| Jason Gladfelder | SR | LB | Grand View University |
| Brady Harwell | SR | LB | Kansas Wesleyan University |
| Charles Jones | FR | LB | Texas College |
| Alex Karpstein | SR | DE | Presentation College |
| Zach Lempka | SR | DL | Peru State College |
| Josh Licht | SR | DE | Dakota State University (S.D.) |
| Brock Messina | SR | LB | Georgetown College |
| Ty Phillips | JR | DL | Missouri Valley College |
| Isiah Ross | SR | DB | Langston University |
| Brandon Ruemler | JR | LB | Olivet Nazarene University |
| Donny Ruggles | SR | DB | Faulkner University |
| Andrew Stewart | JR | LB | Kentucky Christian University |