LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas – The Little Rock Touchdown Club and Wright Lindsey Jennings announced the finalists for the sixth annual CLIFF HARRIS AWARD. The 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.
An overall winner will be announced on December 24th and honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club's annual awards banquet on January 10, 2019. The winner will receive the $3,000 Cliff Harris Award trophy presented by Cliff Harris. In addition to the overall winner, the top vote getters from each division will also be announced. A prestigious group of former college and pro football greats serve on the Cliff Harris Award Committee.
Senior Isaac Zickafoose (Middlebury, Ind./Northridge), who was recently named Second Team All-America by the American Football Coaches Association following a 2018 campaign when he earned his second HCAC Defensive Player of the Year award, is the second Beaver to be named a finalist for this prestigious honor, following in the footsteps of standout Ryan Aelker. He is one of just 35 finalists from Division III and the only member of the Heartland Conference to be recognized.
Zickafoose led the Heartland with 11.5 sacks (3rd all-time at Bluffton) and his 17.0 TFL's were second in the HCAC and fifth all-time for a season at Bluffton. His 80 fumble recovery yards topped the HCAC and set a new school mark, while his eight breakups were tied for sixth in the HCAC and fifth all-time at Bluffton. He was second on the team with 63 tackles and his 49 solo stops led the Beavers.
A four-time First Team All-Heartland Conference selection, Zickafoose used his four TFL's and two sacks in Bluffton's 34-7 win over Defiance to take over the top spot on the career lists with 60.5 TFL's and 35.5 sacks! He also stands at the top of Bluffton career charts with 308 TFL yards, 228 sack yards, 85 fumble recovery yards and 15 quarterback hurries. The three-time All-North Region honoree wrapped up his record-setting career with five forced fumbles (tied for 5th all-time) and 193 tackles (11th all-time).
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