Reed Announced as Harlon Hill Trophy Candidate
A total of 36 student-athletes from across the nation have been nominated for the 2014 Harlon Hill Trophy as the NCAA Division II College Football Player of the Year. Included in those 36 is UF senior quarterback Verlon Reed.
Players are nominated and voted on by the sports information directors at the 168 NCAA Division II football-playing institutions. The 36 initial candidates will be placed on regional ballots and the top two players from each of the four NCAA regions will advance to the national ballot when regional voting concludes on Nov. 28.
Reed ended his career with a number of school records. The signal caller set records for most completions in a season (210), most attempts in a season (357), most passing yards in a season (2,712) and most offensive yards (3,346). His 4,503 career passing yards ranks second all-time at UF.
The Columbus, Ohio native finished second in the GLIAC during the 2014 season with 2,712 passing yards and 22 touchdowns. He also rushed for 634 yards and seven scores and his 304.2 yards of total offense per game is the third best mark within the conference.
The winner of the 2014 award, which is presented by the National Harlon Hill Award Committee, will be announced on Friday, Dec. 19 via a webcast and the winner will be honored at a luncheon on the University of North Alabama campus on Jan. 9, 2015.
The Hill Trophy is sponsored by the City of Florence, Ala., Florence-Lauderdale Tourism, Opti-Net, the Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa and Herff Jones.
Candidates are initially nominated by the sports information directors at their respective schools and are then voted on by the SIDs in their respective Super Region. The winner is then determined in a nation-wide vote of the Division II sports information directors.
The group of 36 candidates includes 20 quarterbacks, nine running backs, two receivers, three linebackers and two defensive linemen. There are 20 seniors, nine juniors and seven sophomores.
A list of the nominees can be found below: