Missouri Western running back Michael Hill was announced as one of 24 candidates for the 2012 Harlon Hill Trophy honoring the NCAA Division II College Football Player of the Year Friday (Nov. 9) by the National Harlon Hill Award Committee.
The list includes six players from each of the four Division II Super Regions.
Players are nominated and voted on by the sports information directors at the 168 NCAA Division II football-playing institutions. The 24 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 17.
The winner of the 2012 award, which is presented by the National Harlon Hill Award Committee, will be announced at the 27th annual Harlon Hill Trophy Presentation Banquet on Friday, Dec. 14 at the Florence Conference Center at 6:30 p.m. (CST). This year’s Hill Trophy Banquet will also include the 14th induction class into the Division II Football Hall of Fame.
Hill a senior from St. Joseph, Mo., currently leads the MIAA and is second in Division II in rushing yards per game (168.8 ypg) and is averaging 7.5 yards per carry. He has rushed for over 100 yards nine times this season finding the end zone 14 times on the ground and three threw the air. He also leads the league in points scored per game (10.80) which ties him for 8th nationally and is second in all-purpose yards in the MIAA and 5th in the nation at (186.70). Hill is coming off his best day as a Griffons rushing for 259 yards and three touchdowns in the Griffons 56-28 victory over then 25th ranked Washburn. Hill is the Griffons all-time leader in carries, rushing yards and yards in a season with 1,688 through 10 games.
He has also set or on the verge of setting records for most point scored in a season and career, most touchdowns scored in a season and career, most rushing attempts in a season, most rushing touchdowns in a season and career, highest average per carry in a season, highest rushing average per game in a season, most 100-yard rushing games in a season and career and most all-purpose yards in a season and career.
Hill earned All-America honors as a junior in 2011 while helping guide the Griffons to a 9-3 record and their second straight NCAA Division II Playoff appearance.
Hill (5-11, 205) is joined on the 2012 Super Region Three Ballot by Emporia State quarterback Tyler Eckenrode (6-0, 195, SR), Henderson State quarterback Kevin Rodgers (6-3, 215, SO), Pittsburg State wide receiver John Brown (5-11, 171, JR), St. Cloud State quarterback Phillip Klaphake (6-1, 196, JR) and Winona State running back Rayon Simmons (5-10, 220, SR).
Candidates were initially nominated by the sports information directors at their respective schools and those nominations were then reviewed by the Hill Regional Advisory Committees, which trimmed the list of candidates.
— MWSU Sports Information —