WASHINGTON – The postseason honors keep rolling in for Gallaudet University senior defensive end Adham Talaat (Springfield, Va.) as he was named a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award, awarded to the small college defensive player of the year and was featured in an article on PressBoxDC.com. 

The Cliff Harris Award will be presented annually to the top small college defensive football player in the country representing almost 500 NCAA Division II, III and NAIA colleges and universities. Nominees and finalists from all three divisions and an overall winner are chosen by head coaches and a prestigious selection committee of college and pro football greats. The winner will be announced on Dec. 24 and honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club's annual awards banquet in February 2014 featuring guest speaker Lou Holtz. The winner will receive the $3,000 Cliff Harris Award Trophy. Talaat is one of 49 finalists, who were selected from the pool of 100.

Talaat was also recently featured in a story on PressBoxDC.com, a local website that covers local sports news, from college to the pros. Writer Steve Jones wrote a piece chronicling Talaat's career at Gallaudet as a student-athlete and his aspirations going forward. This is the second time this season that Gallaudet has been featured by PressBox D.C.

Talaat was recently named to the D3football.com 2013 All-East Region second team, the CoSIDA Academic All-America first-team in addition to being a top 10 finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, given to the most outstanding football player in NCAA Division III and a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award, awarded to the top small college defensive player each year. Talaat is Gallaudet's first player ever to be named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America first team and the first Bison to receive Academic All-America honors two years in a row. The honor adds to a long list of awards Talaat has earned in the postseason. 

Despite being double and triple-teamed most games, Talaat finished the season with 46 total tackles (26 solo), 9.5 tackles for a loss of 50 yards, five sacks for a loss of 42 yards, six quarterback hurries, three pass breakups, three passes defended and one forced fumble. He served as a defensive leader for the Bison as they went on to their first post-season appearance in school history.

The Cliff Harris Award Selection Committee represents 45 Super Bowl appearances, 54 Pro Bowl appearances, 39 All-Pro selections, four inductees to the NFL Hall of Fame, three inductees into the College Hall of Fame, six members of the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor, a Heisman Trophy Winner, a Super Bowl MVP and an NCAA national champion.

Also See:

• 2013 Cliff Harris Award Finalists
• Press Box D.C.: Academic honor caps Adham Talaat's Gallaudet Career (12/12/13)