LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Little Rock Touchdown Club and Wright Lindsey Jennings announce the nominees for the seventh annual CLIFF HARRIS AWARD, with Concordia-St. Paul junior defensive end
Chris Garrett among 64 Division II nominees in a larger pool representing NCAA Divisions II & III and NAIA football programs including a pool of more than 5,000 players and 500 colleges and universities.
Garrett is one of four nominees from the Northern Sun (NSIC) and is the third from Concordia to make the official nomination list, joining
Marcus Haskins who was one of 45 Division II nominees in 2018 and Zach Moore in 2013. Haskins and Moore both advanced to the finalist stage, where Moore was among 21 Division II (49 overall) finalists before being drafted by the New England Patriots in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft just a few months later. Haskins was among 31 Division II and 81 overall finalists a year ago.
Garrett is now a two-time All-American, the 2019 NSIC Defensive Player of the Year and the NCAA Division II career record holder with 15 forced fumbles, leading the nation in 2019 with seven while ranking second in the country in sacks just a year after leading the nation. He's a two-time NSIC sack leader and holds Concordia's career record, surpassing five-year NFL veteran and Super Bowl Champion Zach Moore earlier this fall.
A prestigious selection committee made up of former college and pro football greats will select the Cliff Harris Award overall winner, and the top vote getter from each division will also be announced. Finalists for the award will be released in one week and the Cliff Harris Award winner will be announced on December 23 and honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club's annual awards banquet on January 9, 2020.
The winner will receive the $3,000 Cliff Harris Award trophy presented by Cliff Harris along with featured speaker Archie Griffen. Previous award winners include Pierre Desir (Lindenwood), Darius Allen (CSU-Pueblo), Marqui Christian (Midwestern State), Connor Harris (Lindenwood), Michael Joseph (Dubuque) and Corey Ballentine (Washburn).
For the full story of Cliff Harris, visit www.CliffHarrisAward.com and read about his amazing journey from an overlooked high school player from tiny Des Arc, Arkansas and one scholarship offer to then-NAIA Ouachita Baptist to five Super Bowls and six Pro Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys.
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#52 Chris Garrett (DE, 6-4, 230, Jr., Milwaukee, Wis. / Milwaukee Lutheran HS)
- 2019 Harlon Hill Trophy semifinalist from Super Region 4
- 2019 Cliff Harris Award nominee
- 2019 AFCA All-America Second Team selection
- 2019 D2CCA All-Super Region 4 Defensive Player of the Year
- 2019 D2CCA All-Super Region 4 First Team
- 2019 NSIC Defensive Player of the Year
- Two-time All-NSIC South First Team selection
- 2018 AFCA & AP All-America First TeamÂ
- 2018 D2CCA All-America Second Team & Don Hansen's All-America Third Team
- 2018 D2Football.com All-America Honorable Mention
- 2018 All-Super Region 4 First Team by D2CCA & Don Hansen's Football Gazette
- Two-time 2019 NSIC Defensive Player of the Week and earned D2Football.com National Defensive Player of the Week onceÂ
- A two-time National Defensive Player of the Week and five-time NSIC Defensive Player of the Week choice in his career
- National leader with seven forced fumbles, 3rd most in DII history in a season
- Set DII career record with 15 forced fumbles
- Second-straight year leading NSIC in sacks (1.27/game), ranking 2nd in DII after leading the nation in 2018
- Second in the NSIC and ninth in NCAA DII with 1.9 TFLs per game
- Set CSP career sacks record with 36.5, ranking 13th in DII career history and second in NSIC history
- Ranks third in NCAA Division II history with 1.30 sacks per game in his career
- Has 48.5 career TFLs in just 28 games played following junior year, third most in CSP history
- Ranks 14th in NCAA Division II history with 1.73 career tackles for loss per game
- Finished the year ranked 18th in the NSIC with 69 total tackles and has 166 tackles in 28 career games
- Set school record with 6.5 TFLs and second-most sacks (5.0) in CSP history with DII & NSIC single game highs vs MSU Moorhead
- His 5.0 sacks against MSUM are seventh most in a single game in NCAA DII history
- His 6.5 TFLs against MSUM are 11th most in a single game in NCAA DII history
- His three forced fumbles against MSUM is tied for third most in a game in NCAA DII history, an achievement he matched as a freshman at Augustana
PAST CLIFF HARRIS AWARD NOMINEES
2019: Chris Garrett, nominee (64 DII nominees)
2018: Marcus Haskins, finalist (31 DII / 81 overall finalists)
2013: Zach Moore, finalist (21 DII / 49 overall finalists)
