View Official Harlon Hill Release
FLORENCE, Ala. - Two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) football standouts have been nominated for the 2017 Harlon Hill Trophy as the Division II College Football Player of the Year. Overall, 34 total nominees from across the nation were announced by the National Harlon Hill Award Committee.
Ashland senior quarterback Travis Tarnowski and Ferris State defensive end Zach Sieler were both nominated for the prestigious honor as both players helped guide their team to NCAA Division II Football Playoff victories over the weekend.
Tarnowski was selected the 2017 GLIAC Football Player of the Year as he ended the regular season with 26 TD passes and 2,600 passing yards while accumulating a 155.6 passing effiency rating and 60.3 completion percentage. He also became Ashland's all-time leader in passing yards (10,877) and total offense yards (11,263), and extended his program record for career touchdown passes (106).
Sieler, a returning All-America honoree, was a dominant force up front for one of the nation's top defensive units this season. He compiled a squad-high 16.5 tackles for loss along with six sacks while earning GLIAC Defensive Lineman of the Year laurels for the second-straight season. In addition, he ranked third on the squad with 51 total stops, including 23 unassisted tackles, despite being double-teamed most of the year. He earned All-GLIAC First Team recognition for the second-straight year.
Grand Valley State quarterback Curt Anes won the Hill Trophy in 2002 followed by Wayne State running back Joique Bell in 2009. Ferris State quarterback Jason Vander Laan became the fourth two-time winner hoisting the trophy in both 2014 and 2015.
Players are nominated and voted on by the sports information directors at the 169 NCAA Division II football-playing institutions. The 34 initial candidates will be placed on regional ballots and the top two players from each of the four NCAA regions will advance to the national ballot when regional voting concludes on November 27.
There are 10 nominees from Super Region 1, seven from Super Region 2, nine from Super Region 3 and eight from Super Region 4. The group of 34 candidates includes 13 running backs, 12 quarterbacks, four receivers and five defenders. There are 17 seniors nominated and 17 under classmen.
Candidates are initially nominated by the sports information directors at their respective schools and are then voted on by the SIDs in those Super Regions. The winner is then determined in a nation-wide vote of the Division II sports information directors.
Harlon Hill Timeline
November 27 - Regional voting concludes
November 30 - National Finalists are announced
December 9 - National voting concludes
December 15 - 2017 Harlon Hill Trophy winner will be announced
January 5, 2018 - Harlon Hill Trophy presented at a luncheon at the University of North Alabama
