Brock Long Named a Finalist for Cliff Harris Award

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Little Rock Touchdown Club and Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP announced the finalists for the 3rd annual Cliff Harris Award on Thursday (Dec. 17). Senior linebacker Brock Long of Fort Hays State is a finalist for the award. He is one of 66 finalists overall and one of 29 finalists from NCAA Division II, narrowed from more than 100 total nominees for the award.

This award is presented to the nation’s top small college defensive player representing almost 500 colleges and universities from NCAA Division II, Division III, and NAIA colleges. A prestigious selection committee made up of former college and pro football greats will select the winner. In addition to the Cliff Harris Award overall winner, the top vote-getter from each division will also be announced. The Cliff Harris Award winner will be announced on Dec. 24 and honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club’s annual awards banquet in February 2016. The winner will receive the $3,000 Cliff Harris Award trophy presented by Cliff Harris. The inaugural winner of the award in 2013 was Lindenwood University cornerback Pierre Desir, now with the Cleveland Browns. The 2014 winner was Darius Allen of Colorado State University-Pueblo.

Long put together a tremendous all-around season on defense, setting a new school record for tackles in a season with 171. It passed the former mark of 164 set by Alex Whitehill in 2011. But aside from the tackles, Long’s all-around defensive efforts have caught the eye of many on a national level. Upon completion of the Mineral Water Bowl, Long finished the year with 21.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, and four forced fumbles to go with his 171 tackles. He ranks fourth nationally in total tackles, 13^th in tackles for loss, 17^th in sacks, and seventh in forced fumbles. It is rare to see a linebacker inside the top 20 of all four of those categories nationally.

Recently, Long was named an All-America First Team selection by D2CCA. He also earned Associated Press Little All-America First Team honors. He led the team in tackles in nine of the 12 games this season. He averaged 14.3 tackles per game and reached double figures in tackles 10 times.

Long ranks fifth on the career tackles list for the NCAA era at FHSU with 264, accomplishing the feat in just two years. He is tied for 10^th on the career sacks (13.5) and career tackles for loss (26.0) lists at FHSU for the NCAA era. For single-season accomplishments at FHSU, he is now the record holder for tackles and tackles for loss, while tying for second in sacks.

Below is the list of finalists for the Cliff Harris Award.

2015 CLIFF HARRIS AWARD FINALISTS