ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNER

For IMMEDIATE RELEASE - December 14, 2007

CONTACT: JEFF HODGES - (256) 765-4595

COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S ALL-TIME LEADING RUSHER WINS 2007 HARLON HILL TROPHY AS DIVISION II FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

 FLORENCE, Ala. --  Chadron State (Neb.) College senior tailback  Danny Woodhead  claimed the Harlon Hill Trophy Friday  for the second year in a row as   the 2007 Division II College Football Player of the Year.

Woodhead received 175  total points in the voting and held a commanding  53-point margin over the second-place finisher.

The award winner is determined in voting by the Division II sports information directors and was presented in front of a crowd of 400 at the 22nd  annual Harlon Hill Trophy award banquet at the Marriott Shoals Conference Center.

The Harlon Hill Trophy is sponsored  by the City of Florence, Coca-Cola, Trustmark Construction, Opti-Net, Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa and Herff Jones.

Woodhead, a senior from North Platte, Neb., received 36 first-place votes and received points on 81 of the 105 ballots cast.

Woodhead's selection marks the third time that a player has won the Hill Trophy twice, joining Johnny Bailey of Texas A&M-Kingsville (1987-89) and Valdosta State's Dusty Bonner (2000-01).

Woodhead, a Hill candidate for the fourth straight season,  broke the NCAA all-division's career rushing record with 7,962 yards and his 9,479 career all-purpose yards is second best in college football history. Among his numerous other NCAA all-division's records are marks for most consecutive games to score in (38) and most career 200-yard rushing games (19). His 37 career 100-yard rushing games is a Division II record.

This season alone, Woodhead rushed for 1,876 yards and averaged 6.0 yards per carry while scoring 24 touchdowns. He also caught 53 passes for 562 yards and three TDs. He helped lead Chadron State to a 12-1 record, a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship and a spot in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

He was selected as one of two NCAA Division II Scholar Athlete winners and will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship from the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

Woodhead is one of just six players in Division II history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in each of his four seasons and he rushed for at least 100 yards in 37 of his 44 career games.

Abilene Christian junior running back Bernard Scott was second with 122  points and 25 first-place votes, and Delta State senior linebacker  Michael Eubanks was third with 100 points and 12 first-place votes.  Eubanks became just the second defensive player in the award's 22-year history to finish in the top three in the final voting.

Following that trio in the voting was Shepherd College senior running back  Dervon Wallace  with 62 points, University of North Dakota senior wide receiver Weston Dressler at 54, Bloomsburg senior running back Jamar Brittingham at 33, Grand Valley State sophomore quarterback Brad Iciek and Harding University junior quarterback David Knighton with 31 each and University of North Alabama junior quarterback A.J. Milwee at 22.

A total of 30  players were initially nominated for the 2007 Harlon Hill Trophy in their respective NCAA regions, with the top two players from the Northeast, Northwest and Southwest regions, as well as the top three finishers from the Southeast,  advanced to national voting.

Scott, a senior from Vernon, Texas, set  Division II records in 2007 for most touchdowns scored in a season (39), most rushing touchdowns in a season (35) and most points scored in a season (234). The rushing touchdown mark has since fallen. He rushed for 2,165 yards in his first season in Division II  and was a four-time Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week. He scored at least three touchdowns in nine of his 13 games this season and scored six touchdowns in two different games. He broke the Wildcats' single-game rushing record twice in 2007 with 283 yards and six touchdowns against Tarleton State and 303 yards and six touchdowns against Chadron State.

Scott helped lead Abilene Christian to a 10-2 record which marked the school's first 10-win season since 1977.

Eubanks, a senior from Cleveland, Miss., holds the all-time Division II record for career quarterback sacks with 39, and ranks third in DII history with 70.5 tackles for loss. He helped lead Delta State to a 10-2 record that included a Gulf South Conference championship and a spot in the second round of the Division II playoffs. He was selected Gulf South Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007.

This season he ranked second nationally in tackles for loss with 27 and was fifth nationally in sacks.

He led a Delta State defense that led the nation in pass defense, was third in rushing and total defense and fourth in scoring defense.

Eubanks is a three-time All-GSC and All-Southeast Region selection and he is also a Division II Scholar Athlete selection and will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship from the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

The Hill Trophy is named for a former UNA player - Harlon Hill - who was a standout with the Lions from 1950-53 before going on to fame in the National Football League with the Chicago Bears.

North Dakota State quarterback Jeff Bentrim won the initial Hill Trophy in 1986, before Texas A&M- Kingsville running back Johnny Bailey won three straight Hill trophies from 1987-89.

Another North Dakota State quarterback, Chris Simdorn, claimed the 1990 award, followed by Pittsburg State's Ronnie West in 1991 and Ronald Moore in 1992, New Haven running back Roger  Graham in 1993,  Valdosta State quarterback Chris Hatcher in 1994, North Alabama linebacker Ronald McKinnon in 1995 , Truman State running back Jarrett Anderson in 1996, Bloomsburg running back Irvin Sigler in 1997, Emporia State running back Brian Shay in 1998 , Northern Colorado  quarterback Corte McGuffey in 1999, Valdosta State quarterback Dusty Bonner in 2000 and 2001, and Grand Valley State quarterback Curt Anes in 2002.  University of North Alabama senior quarterback Will Hall claimed the trophy in 2003. Colorado- Mines quarterback Chad Friehauf took the trophy in 2004, East Stroudsburg's Jimmy Terwilliger in 2005 an Woodhead in 2006.

2007 HILL VOTE TOTALS

TOTAL                                                            

1st       2nd    3rd

Points      Player             

175   Danny Woodhead          TB    SR    Chadron State         36    22    23

122   Bernard Scott                 RB    JR    Abilene Christian      25    16    15

100   Michael Eubanks         LB    SR    Delta State           12    18    28     

  62  Dervon Wallace                RB    SR    Shepherd         11    11      7

  54  Weston Dressler         WR    SR    North Dakota         6   13    10

  33  Jamar Brittingham       RB    SR    Bloomsburg             8     2     5  

  31  Brad Iciek              QB    SO    Grand Valley State        1   10      8

  31  David Knighton                QB    JR    Harding                4     7     5

  22  A.J. Milwee             QB    JR    North Alabama             2     6     4