Hayden announced as finalist for Cliff Harris Award
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Dec. 16) – Bethany College senior linebacker Donavan Hayden (Hyattsville, Md. / Northwestern) has been named a national finalist for the 2016 Cliff Harris Award, which is presented to the top small college defensive player in the nation.
The Cliff Harris Award, presented by the Little Rock Touchdown Club and Wright Lindsey & Jennings, LLP, is awarded 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.
Hayden was recently named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III Coaches' All-America Team, earned Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III South Defensive Player of the Year honors and claimed a spot on the D3football.com All-South Region First Team already this postseason.
He was named the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league ranking second in NCAA Division III with 142 tackles (14.2 per game), including 82 solo stops. His 20.0 tackles for loss led the PAC and rank 11th among Division III counterparts. Hayden also led the conference and ranked ninth nationally with four forced fumbles.
The Maryland native is Bethany's all-time leader with 360 tackles and his 142 tackles in 2016 are the third-highest single-season total in school history.
The Cliff Harris Award winner will be announced on December 24 and honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club's annual awards banquet on January 19, 2017, which will feature guest speaker Archie Manning. 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.
