2015 Cliff Harris Award Nominees LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Little Rock Touchdown Club and Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP announced Wednesday the nominees for the third annual Cliff Harris Award and SWOSU junior safety
Conner Bays is one of 101 players nominated for the award.
The Cliff Harris Award is presented 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. 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.
Bays led SWOSU's defense this season with 105 tackles, the third-best single-season tackle total at SWOSU in the NCAA era a mark that ranks him fifth in the Great American Conference. He led the Bulldogs in tackles during nine of their 11 regular season games and he had 10 or more tackles six times with a career-best 14 against Arkansas Tech on November 7th. Bays was named the GAC Defensive Player of the Week on October 26th following an eight-tackle performance against Oklahoma Baptist that included a 41-yard interception return for a touchdown, the second of his career. A native of Edmond, Bays finished the regular season ranked second on the team with three interceptions and 10 passes defended while also ranking fifth on the team with 5.5 tackles for loss.
Finalists for the award will be released in two weeks and the Cliff Harris Award winner will be announced on December 24th 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. Last season, SWOSU All-American defensive tackle
Devin Benton was a finalist for the award, which was claimed by Darius Allen of Colorado State University-Pueblo.
Cliff Harris was an overlooked high school player from tiny Des Arc, Ark., who had one scholarship offer from then-NAIA Ouachita Baptist University and went on to play in five Super Bowls and six Pro Bowls in the NFL as a member of the Dallas Cowboys. For more information about the story of Cliff Harris, go to
www.CliffHarrisAward.com or follow them on Twitter (
@CliffHarrisAwd).
