FLORENCE,
Ala. -- University of North
Alabama junior quarterback A.J. Milwee is
one of nine national finalists still in the
running for the Harlon Hill Trophy as the
NCAA Division II College Football Player of
the Year.
Milwee,
who is 20-2 as a starter at UNA and has led
the Lions to a 9-1 record and into the
second round of the Division II playoffs
this season, is the sixth North Alabama
player to become a finalist for the award
that is named for former Lion All-American
Harlon Hill.
The top
two players from each of the Northeast,
Southwest and Northwest regions advanced
through regional voting, as well as three
from the Southeast where there was a tie in
the voting. The finalists were selected by
the NCAA Division II sports information
directors in regional voting and are now on
the national ballot where all 149 of the
division’s SIDs will select the award’s
22nd winner.
The list
of 2007 finalists is comprised of four
running backs, three quarterbacks, a
receiver and a linebacker.
Seven of
the finalists have helped lead their teams
into the NCAA Division II playoffs this
season, including the 2006 Hill Trophy
Winner Danny Woodhead of Chadron State.
Advancing
from the Southwest region are 2006 Hill
Trophy winner Danny Woodhead of Chadron
State
College and
junior running back Bernard Scott of Abilene
Christian. Finalists from the Northeast
region are
senior running
back Jamar Brittingham of Bloomsburg, who
was a finalist in 2005, and senior running
back Dervon Wallace of Shepherd. Sophomore
quarterback Brad Iciek of Grand Valley
State University and senior wide receiver
Weston Dressler of the University of North
Dakota were selected from the Northwest
region. Southeast Region finalists include
Milwee, senior linebacker Michael Eubanks of
Delta State Universiity and junior
quarterback David Knighton of Harding
University.
The
second round of this weekend’s Division II
playoffs will feature three head-to-head
matchups between Hill finalists. Eubanks
and Milwee will face off in the North
Alabama-Delta State game, Iciek and Dressler
will meet in the Grand Valley State-North
Dakota game and Scott and Woodhead will
compete against each other in the Abilene
Christian-Chadron State game.
The
Hill Trophy is sponsored by Coca-Cola, the
City of Florence, Ala., Trustmark
Construction, Herff Jones, the Marriott
Shoals Hotel and Spa and Opti-Net.
Candidates for the 2007 Hill Trophy were
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.
National
voting will conclude on November 30 and
the top three finishers will be invited to
the
Shoals for the
presentation banquet. The winner of the 2007
award, which is presented by the National
Harlon Hill Award Committee, will be
announced at the Harlon Hill Trophy and
Division II Football Hall of Fame Banquet
on Friday, December 14 in Florence, prior to
the NCAA Division II Football Championship
Game on Dec. 15.
Tickets
are $45 each or $360 for a table of eight
and can be purchased by calling the Shoals
Chamber of Commerce at (256) 764-4661.
Milwee, a
junior from Boaz, Ala., has a 20-2 record as
a starting quarterback at North Alabama and
is ranked among the national leaders in
passing efficiency. He has thrown for 2,268
yards and 20 touchdowns this season while
leading UNA to a 9-1 record and into the
second round of the Division II playoffs. He
has rushed or thrown for at least one
touchdown in all 22 of his starts, including
throwing at least one touchdown pass in each
of his last 15 straight starts and has at
least one TD pass in 20 of his
22 career
starts. UNA has ranked in the Top 5 in
Division II in 24 of the 27 polls since he
has been starting and UNA has never ranked
lower than 11th. He has been intercepted
just five times all season and has rushed
for 164 yards and three touchdowns. With a
year to go, he has already tied the school
record for career touchdown passes with 42
- equalling the
mark set by 2003 Hill Trophy winner Will
Hall.
Milwee
led the Lions to an 11-1 record in 2006 that
included a Gulf South Conference
championship and a quarterfinal finish in
the Division II playoffs. He completed 172
of 267 passes for 2,039 yards and 16
touchdowns. He also rushed for 299 yards and
eight touchdowns and finished third on the
team in rushing.
As a
back-up in 2005 he played a prominent role
for UNA in its playoff run. He completed 30
of 40 passes for 301 yards and six
touchdowns, with a 75.0 percent completion
percentage. He rushed 52 times for 244 yards
and averaged 4.7 yards per catch. He also
caught one pass for eight yards. He threw
three touchdown passes in UNA’s 41-38
playoff win at Central Arkansas.
Brittingham, a senior from Levittown, Pa.,
is the 2007 Pennsylvania State Athletic
Conference Eastern Division Player of the
Year and ranks 10th nationally in rushing
with an average of 143.5 yards per game.
He also ranks
fourth nationally in scoring and eighth in
all-purpose yardage. He finished third in
the 2005 Hill voting but missed much of 2006
due to injury.
Dressler,
a junior from Bismarck, N.D., was named
first-team All-North Central Conference at
three positions - receiver, return
specialist and utility player. He is believ
ed to be the first player in the league’s
history to have accomplished that feat. He
is just the fourth player in NCC history to
be first-team all- conference four times.
This season he has 71 catches for 1,178
yards and 12 touchdowns and has helped lead
North Dakota to a 10-1 record entering this
weekend’s second round playoff game.
Eubanks,
a senior from Cleveland, Miss., set the
all-time Division II career record for
quarterback sacks with 39 for 249 yards. He
ranks third all-time in Division II history
in career tackles for loss with 67.5 for 355
yards. He leads the nation’s third ranked
defense with 84 tackles, 12 sacks and 24
tackles for loss, and he has helped lead
Delta State to a 10-1 record that includes a
Gulf South Conference Championship and a
spot in this weekend’s NCAA playoffs.
Iciek, a
sophomore from Allendale, Mich., has helped
lead Grand Valley State to a perfect 10-0
record,a conference championship and a No.1
ranking in the Division II national poll all
season. He ranks second in the nation in
passing efficiency with a 184.8 rating,
having thrown for 2,248 yards and 25
touchdowns. He has thrown just six
interceptions in 215 passes, while
completing 138.
Knighton,
a junior from Seminole, Okla., ranks third
nationally in passing yards with a 319.8
average and is also third in the nation in
total offense with 331 yards per game. He
threw three or more touchdown passes in a
game six times this season, including seven
TD passes in one game - while rushing for an
eighth.
Scott, a
junior from Vernon, Texas, ranks third in
Division II in rushing with a 157.9 yard
average and leads the nation in scoring with
198 points and 33 touchdowns. He is third in
all-purpose yards with 201.5 per game.
Scott’s 1,862 rushing yards is the second
highest single season total in Lone Star
Conference history behind only three-time
Hill Trophy winner Johnny Bailey’s 2,011
yards in 1986. He has helped lead Abilene
Christian to a 10-2 record and into the
second round of the playoffs.
Wallace,
a senior from Lusby, Maryland, leads
Division II in rushing this season with an
average of
195.2 yards per
game. He has scored 21 rushing touchdowns to
rank fifth in scoring, and he leads the
nation in all-purpose yardage with 2,270. He
rushed for more than 300 yards in a game
twice and had 280 yards in another contest.
He has led Shepherd to a perfect 11-0 record
and to the second round of the playoffs.
Woodhead,
a senior from North Platte, Neb., is the
leading rusher in all divisions in the
history of NCAA collegiate football.
Despite being injured for part of the 2007
season, he has rushed for 1,319 yards and 18
touchdowns. He scored in 38 straight games
to set another all-divisions record and his
35 career 100-yard rushing games broke the
Division II record. He is just the sixth
Division II player to rush for at least
1,000 yards in all four seasons and his 19
career 200-plus yard rushing games is also
an NCAA record. His 146.6 yards per game
this season ranks eighth in the nation and
he has led Chadron to a perfect 11-0 record
and into the second round of the playoffs.
Woodhead
is trying to become just the third player to
win the Hill Trophy twice.
The
initial Harlon Hill Trophy was won by North
Dakota State quarterback Jeff Bentrim in
1986, followed by Texas A&M-Kingsville
runningback Johnny Bailey - in 1987, 1988
and 1989. Another North Dakota State
quarterback, Chris Simdorn, claimed the 1990
award, followed by Pittsburg State receiver
Ronnie West in 1991, Pittsburg State running
back Ronald Moore in 1992, New Haven running
back Roger Graham in 1993 and Valdosta State
University quarterback Chris Hatcher in
1994. North Alabama linebacker Ronald
McKinnon became the first defensive player
to win the award when he claimed the Hill
Trophy in 1995.
Truman State
University running back Jarrett Anderson won
the 1996 award and Bloomsburg University
running back Irvin Sigler claimed the Hill
Trophy in 1997 award. Running back Brian
Shay of Emporia State won in 1998, followed
by Northern Colorado quarterback Corte
McGuffey in 1999 and Valdosta State
quarterback Dusty Bonner in 2000 and 2001,
and Grand Valley State quarterback Curt Anes
in 2002. The 2003 trophy was awarded to
North Alabama quarterback Will Hall, Chad
Friehauf of the Colorado School of Mines won
the 2004 award and Jimmy Terwilliger of
East Stroudsburg claimed the
2005 Hill
Trophy as a junior.
