KILLINGWORTH, Conn. — Gallaudet University sophomore linebacker Jacob Hartman (Petersburg, W.Va.) is a nominee for the ninth annual Cliff Harris Award, as announced by The Little Rock Touchdown Club.
This award is presented to the nation's top small college defensive player representing more than 5,000 defensive players from almost 500 NCAA Division II, Division III, and NAIA colleges and universities. A prestigious selection committee made up of former college and pro football greats will select the winner.
Hartman was selected as the 2022 Eastern Collegiate Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year as he made a second consecutive appearance on the all-conference first team. Hartman was a repeat selection to the D3football.com All-Region teams as he was picked to the first team this season. He finished the season with 82 tackles (48 solo), 18 tackles for a loss of 62 yards, five sacks for a loss of 20 yards, six quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles, two pass breakups, and one interception. Hartman finished the year 21st in NCAA Division III for tackles for loss with 1.8 per game.
Finalists for the award will be released in the coming week as the selection committee pares down the list of 171 nominees representing Division II (62 nominees), Division III (71), and NAIA (37). Hartman is the only representative from the ECFC and D.C. The winner will be announced on Dec. 30, 2022, and honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club's annual awards banquet on January 13, 2023. The winner will receive the $3,000 Cliff Harris Award trophy presented by Cliff Harris along with featured speaker Joe Theismann. In addition to the Cliff Harris Award overall winner, the top vote-getter from each division will also be announced.
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.
Previous winners include Pierre Desir, Lindenwood University, Darius Allen, Colorado State University-Pueblo, Marqui Christian, Mid-Western State University, Connor Harris, Lindenwood University, Michael Joseph of Dubuque, Corey Ballentine of Washburn University, Kyle Dugger of Lenoir-Rhyne University and Sam Roberts of Northwest Missouri State.
About the ECFC
The Eastern Collegiate Football Conference was formed in the spring of 2009 as an NCAA Division III single-sport football conference. The conference, named after the geographic location of the institutions began competition in the fall of 2009.
Current members are Alfred State College (Alfred, NY), Anna Maria College (Worcester, MA), Castleton University (Castleton, VT.), Dean College (Franklin, MA), Gallaudet University (Washington, D.C.), Keystone College (La Plume, PA), and Maritime College State University of New York (Throggs Neck, NY).
The mission of the conference is to:
- Promote intercollegiate varsity football as an integral part of the educational experience of all competitors.
- Establish a conference schedule and determine a conference championship that will represent the conference as the automatic qualifier to the NCAA national tournament.
- Adopt sportsmanship, fair play, moral integrity, and competitive excellence as cornerstones of the conference.
(Press release courtesy of Gallaudet Sports Information)
