Click Here To Watch Live Webcast (2 PM ET)
Courtesy of Rob Bentley, Ferris State Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. -- The 2015 Harlon Hill Trophy will be presented to the top NCAA Division II football player in the nation on Friday (Dec. 18) and fans can watch the live announcement via webcast across the country.
Ferris State senior quarterback Jason Vander Laan (Frankfort, Ill./Chicago Christian), who became the first Bulldog player ever to receive the coveted award a year ago, is among eight national finalists for the prestigious honor presented to NCAA Division II's top player again this year. The award is the Division II equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.
Bulldog fans and supporters are invited to join FSU coaches, staff and players on Friday from 1-3 p.m. (ET) at Buffalo Wild Wings in Big Rapids. The live webcast will be shown at approximately 2 p.m. (ET) as this year's winner is announced. Vander Laan, who graduates from Ferris State this week, is not expected to be in attendance and plans to be home in Illinois before beginning preparations for a potential professional football career.
Buffalo Wild Wings is owned and operated by Ferris State alumni and former FSU football players Brian & Jeff Carmody. The online webcast will include a brief video history of Harlon Hill, the Hill Trophy and its previous winners, information on the 2015 voting process and this year's finalists along with the announcement of the winner.
If he is chosen as this year's award recipient, Vander Laan would become only the fourth player ever to receive the Harlon Hill Trophy twice in the history of Division II football and the first since current NFL standout Danny Woodhead in 2006 and 2007. Last year, he became only the third recipient ever from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and no GLIAC player has ever won the award twice in their career.
Vander Laan became the greatest rushing quarterback in NCAA college football history at any level this past season, concluding his career with 5,953 total yards on the ground. He also became the first player in NCAA history to top 1,000 yards rushing and passing for four consecutive seasons. He finished with more than 14,000 yards of total offense and ranks as the GLIAC's all-time leader in career yardage.
The senior signal caller led the Bulldogs to a cumulative 37-9 overall mark, two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles, two NCAA playoff appearances and back-to-back unbeaten regular seasons as the Ferris State quarterback in the last four years. The two-time GLIAC Player of the Year and three-time All-American finished his senior campaign passing for 2,625 yards and 27 touchdowns while rushing for 1,542 yards and 24 more scores.
Along with being a Harlon Hill finalist, he has also already been chosen as the 2015 Division II Conference Commissioners Association National Offensive Player of the Year for the second time and been named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-America First Team for the second-straight year. The NCAA Division II National Scholar-Athlete of the Year was tabbed as the 2015 CoSIDA Division II Football Academic All-American of the Year for his efforts in the classroom and was one of 12 finalists for the Campbell Trophy, which is also known as the Academic Heisman of college football, while becoming a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete.
This season, Vander Laan helped the Bulldogs finish with an 11-1 overall record for the second-straight year. FSU captured the school's second GLIAC Championship in the last two seasons while capping off back-to-back unbeaten regular seasons. Ferris State also stretched its regular-season win streak to a current 25-game stretch and posted the school's first NCAA Playoff victory in 19 years.
The 30th winner of the Harlon Hill Trophy is determined based on a vote of the 168 sports information directors at the NCAA Division II level. Along with Vander Laan, the other national finalists include quarterback Matt Soltes of East Stroudsburg, quarterback Jeff Ziemba of Shepherd, running back Damian Baker of Carson-Newman, North Alabama signal caller Luke Wingo, Humboldt State tailback Ja'Quan Gardner, Emporia State QB Brent Wilson and Colorado State-Pueblo running back Cameron McDondle.
Those fans unable to attend the gathering at Buffalo Wild Wings in Big Rapids can also view the live online announcement at the link below.
http://portal.stretchinternet.com/una/
