Posted: Nov 25, 2019

Ferris State's Austin Edwards Among Nominees For 2019 Harlon Hill Award As D2's Top Player

Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University senior defensive end Austin Edwards (Lansing/Waverly) has been tabbed as one of the nominees for the 2019 Harlon Hill Trophy presented annually to the top Division II College Football Player in the country.

Edwards is among 36 total student-athletes from across the country nominated for the prestigious award, according to the official list announced today by the National Harlon Hill Award Committee. The list includes players from each of the four Division II Super Regions.

Players are nominated and voted on by the sports information directors at the 167 NCAA Division II football-playing institutions. The 36 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 December 2.

The list features 10 nominees from Super Region 1, four from Super Region 2, a total of 10 from Super Region 3 and 12 from Super Region 4.

The winner of the 2019 award will be announced on Friday, Dec. 20, and the winner will be honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club awards banquet on Jan. 9, 2020.

Candidates are initially nominated by the sports information directors at their respective schools and are then voted on by the SID's in those Super Regions. The winner is then determined in a nationwide vote of the Division II sports information directors.

The select group of 36 candidates includes 10 running backs, 13 quarterbacks, seven receivers, three defensive linemen and three linebackers. It also includes 20 seniors nominated and 16 underclassmen.

Edwards is one of only two potential candidates from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). The Hill Trophy is named for the late Harlon Hill, a former University of North Alabama standout, who excelled with the UNA Lions from 1950-53 before going on to fame in the National Football League with the Chicago Bears

Former Ferris State University quarterback Jason Vander Laan was a two-time Harlon Hill Trophy recipient as the country's top player in both 2014 and 2015 and FSU quarterback Jayru Campbell claimed the distinction a year ago as a Bulldog player has won the award in three of the past five years. FSU is one of only three schools in the country to have won the award a nation-leading three times along with Texas A&M-Kingsville and Valdosta State.

The GLIAC Player of the Year, Edwards led the Bulldogs to a second consecutive GLIAC Championship and an unbeaten regular-season. As the leader of one of the nation's top defensive units, Edwards has compiled 13.5 tackles for loss (-83 yards) along with eight sacks (-68 yards) and 45 total stops this campaign with both a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. The three-year starter is a three-time All-GLIAC honoree and two-time All-American who has helped FSU to its sixth consecutive NCAA Division II Playoff appearance this year and the region's top seed after three-straight trips to the national quarterfinals or beyond.

The two-time All-GLIAC First Team pick was a finalist for the 2018 Cliff Harris Award as one of the nation's top small college performers and is a highly-regarded NFL prospect. He became the first GLIAC defensive player to win the conference player of the year distinction since former Saginaw Valley State linebacker John DiGiorgio in 2005 and is the second-ever FSU defensive recipient, following in the footsteps of Bulldog legend Monty Brown (1992). Last week, he was chosen as one of eight national finalists for the 2019 Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year honor.

This week, Edwards and the Bulldogs will host Central Missouri in the second round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs on Saturday (Nov. 30) at Top Taggart Field. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. (ET). Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at StarTickets.com or call (231) 591-2888 for additional information or visit FerrisStateBulldogs.com.