(THE PICKET)—Jeff Ziemba, junior quarterback for the Rams football team, was named one of eight national finalists for the 2015 Harlon Hill Trophy as the NCAA Division II College Football Player of the Year.
This year’s winner will be the 30th in the award’s history.
“It’s an honor to be nominated for the College Football Player of the Year and to be able to represent Shepherd University,” Ziemba said.
The list of 2015 finalists is comprised of five quarterbacks and three running backs. Seven of the finalists helped lead their teams into the 2015 NCAA Division II playoffs.
These finalists were selected by the NCAA Division II sports information directors in regional voting and will now be placed on the national ballot, where all 168 of the division’s SIDs will select the award’s 30th winner. The top two players from each of Division II’s four Super Regions advanced to the national ballot.
Ziemba has led Shepherd to an 11-0 record and into the quarterfinals of the Division II Playoffs. He has completed 207 of 328 passes for 3,017 yards, 27 touchdowns and has thrown three interceptions. He is ranked third nationally in passing efficiency (165.7) and is 25th in passing yards per game (274.3).
“I couldn’t do it without my team and coaches,” added Ziemba.
Jeff Ziemba, the Shepherd Rams football quarterback, is one of eight national finalists for College Football Player of the Year.
Within Shepherd’s region, Super Region 1, senior quarterback Matt Soltes of East Stroudsburg University (Pa.) is also a finalist.
Soltes leads Division II in passing touchdowns with 41 and is ranked second nationally in passing yards per game with 354.5. His is ranked third in total offense (373.6) and fourth in points responsible for per game (24.0). He completed 277 of 486 passes for 3,900 yards and had 4,110 yards of total offense.
Super Region 2 is represented by senior running back Damian Baker of Carson-Newman College and senior quarterback Luke Wingo of the University of North Alabama.
Baker averaged 116.9 yards rushing per game this season while leading the Eagles to an 8-3 record and into the first round of the playoffs. He finished with 1,403 yards and 18 touchdowns on 196 carries.
Wingo led UNA to a 9-3 record and into the second round of the Division II Playoffs. He is ranked sixth nationally in passing efficiency with a 162.8 rating after throwing for 3,203 yards and 25 touchdowns. He completed 231 of 343 passes and also rushed for eight touchdowns.
The top vote getters in Super Region 3 are sophomore running back Ja’Quan Gardner of Humboldt State University in California and senior quarterback Brent Wilson of Emporia State University in Kansas.
Gardner leads Division II in rushing yards per game with 188.8. He is second in all-purpose yards per game (197.9) and scoring (12.5). He has rushed for 2,266 yards and 25 touchdowns on 337 carries. He led Humboldt State to a 10-2 record and into the second round of the Division II Playoffs.
Wilson has led Emporia State to an 11-2 record and into the quarterfinal round of the playoffs. He is ranked 11th nationally in passing yards per game (301.5), total offense (347.7) and sixth in points responsible for per game (20.0). He is 314 of 483 passing for 3,920 yards and 39 touchdowns.
Advancing from Super Region 4 are senior running back Cameron McDondle of Colorado State University, Pueblo and senior quarterback Jason Vander Laan of Ferris State University in Michigan.
McDondle averages 177.4 yards rushing per game this season to rank second nationally, fourth in Division II in scoring (12.0) and fifth in all-purpose yards (183.8). He has gained 2,129 yards on 284 carries and scored 24 touchdowns while leading CSU-Pueblo to a 12-1 record and into the quarterfinals of the playoffs this weekend.
Vander Laan, the 2014 Harlon Hill Trophy winner, completed his senior season with 4,167 yards of total offense after rushing for 1,542 and passing for 2,625. His 347.3 yards of total offense per game rank sixth nationally, and he is ninth in rushing at 128.5. He rushed for 24 touchdowns and threw for another 27 to rank second in Division II in points responsible for with 25.5 per game. He completed 210 of 320 passes with just seven interceptions and ranked ninth nationally in passing efficiency with a 158.0 rating.
National voting will conclude on December 12 and the winner of the 2015 award, which is presented by the National Harlon Hill Award Committee, will be announced on Friday, Dec. 18, via a webcast at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/una/.
The winner will be honored at a luncheon at the University of North Alabama campus on Jan. 8, 2016.
The Hill Trophy is sponsored by the City of Florence, Ala., Opti-Net, Herff Jones and the Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa.
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