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 After
leading the nation in virtually every passing category this
season, Valdosta State University quarterback Dusty Bonner
was named the fifteenth winner of the Harlon Hill Trophy Friday
as the NCAA Division II College Football Player of the Year.
Bonner, a junior from Valdosta, Georgia, passed for 3,907 yards
and a Division II record 54 touchdowns in 2000, while leading
Valdosta State to a 10-2 record and the playoffs . In
claiming the Hill Trophy, he received 38 first-place votes and
156 total points, with a comfortable 49-point margin over his
nearest competitor. Bonner is in his first year of
Division II football after transferring from the University of
Kentucky. Bonner led the nation in total offense,
touchdown passes, passing yards, and pass completions this
season. He completed 317 or 435 passes with a 72.8
completion percentage. He ranked second in the nation in
passing efficiency with a 186.5 rating, and he averaged 345
yards per game of total offense. His record breaking 54
touchdown pass mark eclipsed the record of 50
set by the 1994 Hill winner, and Bonner's current coach - Chris
Hatcher. Bonner averaged 4.9 touchdown passes per
game this season. He was a three-time Gulf South
Conference Offensive Player of the Week as well as a three-time
Division II National Offensive Player of the Week. He was
also named first-team All-Gulf South Conference and was GSC
co-Offensive Player of the Year.
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