Springfield Gardens, New York, sophomore running back among 36 nominees overall for Division II Player of the Year award
2019 Harlon Hill Trophy Candidates Announced
EASTON, Mass. (November 26, 2019) – Stonehill College sophomore running back Justin Felder is among ten candidates from Super Region 1 and 36 nominees overall for the 2019 Harlon Hill Trophy, awarded annually to the NCAA Division II Player of the Year.
The Hill Trophy is named for the late Harlon Hill - the former University of North Alabama standout - who excelled with the Lions from 1950-53 before going on to fame in the National Football League with the Chicago Bears. The group of 36 candidates includes 13 quarterbacks, ten running backs, seven wide receivers, three defensive linemen and three linebackers, featuring 20 seniors, ten juniors, five sophomores and one freshman. Two nominees - Notre Dame (Ohio)'s Jaleel McLaughlin and Valdosta State's Rogan Wells - return after advancing to the finalist stage in 2018. Sports information directors at the 167 NCAA Division II football-playing institutions nominate and vote on the award. The 36 initial candidates are placed on regional ballots and the top two players from each of the four NCAA regions will advance to the national ballot when regional voting concludes on Monday, December 2.The winner of the 2019 award will be announced on Friday, December 20, and honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club awards banquet on January 9.
Felder, the Northeast-10 Conference Most Valuable Player and first team All-NE10 selection, had a breakout sophomore season for Stonehill. The D2Football.com NE10 Offensive Player of the Year set school-records for rushing attempts (236), yards (1,513), touchdowns (16), total touchdowns (18), scoring (108 points) and all-purpose yards (1,611) in the Skyhawks ten games. He started the last eight games of the season after senior running back Brian Kearns, Jr. went down with an injury in the first quarter of the Skyhawks second game of the year and went on to lead the NE10 in each category listed above, ranking fourth in Division II for rushing yards per game, fifth for rushing yards, eighth for rushing touchdowns, ninth for total touchdowns, 11th in points scored, 12th in all-purpose and 23rd for rushing yards per attempt (6.4).
Felder, also a New England Football Writers Division II/III All-Star, earned NE10 Offensive Player of the Week honors a program-record four times over the course of the season. He also received the New England Football Writers Division II/III Gold Helmet Award on November 10 and posted the first 100-point and 1,500-yard rushing season in program history, He surpassed 100-yards in seven of ten games and is the first running back in NE10 history to rush for over 300-yards in back to back weeks. Felder set a school-record with his 314 yards on 24 carries with two touchdowns, averaging a program-best 13.1 yards per carry, in Stonehill's 41-20 win over Southern Connecticut State University on November 2. He followed that up with 311 yards on a career-high 40 carries and four touchdowns, with three rushing and another receiving in the Skyhawks 34-22 win over Pace University on November 9. He scored three touchdowns in the first quarter of the 38-14 win at Saint Anselm College on September 21 and then capped his season on November 16, with 164 yards on 27 carries with two touchdowns against a University of New Haven team that led the NE10 and ranked tenth nationally for rushing defense at 82.6 yards per game – which Felder had eclipsed by halftime.
Felder is already quickly moving up Stonehill's career rushing leaders after just 18 games played through his first two seasons. He ranks third in program history with his 18 career rushing touchdowns, which is just six shy of the program record of 24 by Eddie Vachon '11 and Kearns, Jr., while ranking seventh with 1,942 career yards, eighth with 21 total touchdowns and ninth with 331 rushing attempts.
Stonehill finished its 2019 season with a 6-4 record overall, including 5-3 in the NE10 to finish in third place in the Conference, just a game out of first place. In addition to Felder's Offensive Player of the Year selection by D2Football.com, head coach Eli Gardner was named the website's NE10 Coach of the Year after leading the Skyhawks resurgence from a 2-8 campaign a year ago and being picked sixth in the NE10 preseason coaches' poll. A program-record 14 from Stonehill earned All-NE10 honors this fall, including a program-best six on the first team.
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