Randolph, Cordell, Haffly Among Candidates For Harlon Hill Award

FLORENCE - Ala. - Three football from the South Atlantic Conference - Mars Hill College running back Jonas Randolph, Tusculum College quarterback Bo Cordell, and Wingate University quarterback Cody Haffly have been named to the 24-person ballot for the Harlon Hill Award.

The award is given to the NCAA Division II College Football Player of the Year. The list includes six players from each of Division II's four Super Regionals.

Players are nominated and voted on by the sports information directors at the 148 NCAA Division II football-playing institutions. The 24 initial candidates will be 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 November 19.

The winner of the 2010 award, which is presented by the National Harlon Hill Award Committee, will be announced at the 25th annual Harlon Hill Trophy Presentation Banquet on Friday, December 17 at the Florence Conference Center at 6:30 p.m. This year's Hill Trophy Banquet will also include the 12th induction into the Division II Football Hall of Fame, with Ken Sparks, Mel Tjeerdsma and Bobby Wallace becoming the first coaches to be inducted.

Tickets are $50 each or $400 for a table of eight and can be purchased by calling the Shoals Chamber of Commerce at (256) 764-4661.

Jonas Randolph

Bo Cordell

Cody Haffly

The NCAA Division II Championship Game is scheduled for December 18 at Florence's Braly Municipal Stadium at 10 a.m.

The Hill Trophy is sponsored by the City of Florence, Ala., Florence-Lauderdale Tourism, Opti-Net, the Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa and Herff Jones.

The group of 24 candidates includes 15 quarterbacks, seven running backs, one receiver and one linebacker. There are 13 seniors, six juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen.

The other candidates from Super Regional 2 are senior quarterback Nick Hardesty of Henderson State (Ark.) University, junior quarterback Stanley Jennings of Albany State (Ga.) University and senior quarterback Deon Williams of the University of West Alabama.

Randolph, from Daleville, Ala., is one of three players among the 2010 candidates who were also candidates a year ago. West Liberty University quarterback Zach Amedro was a national finalist in 2009. Randolph and Southwest Baptist University quarterback Steve Gachette were regional candidates last season.

Wayne State (Mich.) running back Joique Bell was the 2009 winner.

Randolph, a junior from Daleville, Ala., has rushed for 1,264 yards on 232 carries this season, with 13 touchdowns. He also has 13 receptions for 157 yards and one touchdown. He has rushed for at least 140 yards in his last six games.

Cordell, a 6-1, 195-pound sophomore from Cincinnati, Ohio, is the nation's leading passer, averaging 425.8 yards per game, which is currently the second-highest average in NCAA Division II history. Through 10 games, he has passed for a school and South Atlantic Conference single-season record 4,258 yards, which is also the seventh most in NCAA II history. Cordell has gone 359-for-554 for 35 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions.

He also leads all NCAA divisions (FBS, FCS, II, III) in passing yards per game, total passing yards, total offensive yards per game (426.8 ypg) and completions per game (35.9 cpg). He leads Division II in points responsible for per game (25.6 ppg) and is 29th in passing efficiency (146.6) as Cordell hasn't thrown an interception in his last three games (164 consecutive pass attempts). Cordell has accounted for 42 touchdowns this year (35 pass, 7 rush), which is the second-most in SAC history (TC's Corey Russell accounted for 49 TD's in 2008 - 13 games).

The Indian Hill High School graduate has passed for over 400 yards in an amazing nine straight games, averaging 437.78 yards per contest during that span. That streak is the longest in TC and SAC history and one of the longest ever posted by a NCAA signal caller. Cordell has been named the national player of the week on two occasions this season and is a four-time SAC Offensive Player of the Week.

Cordell becomes only the third Tusculum player in school history to be named a candidate for the Harlon Hill Trophy. In 2003, consensus All-American cornerback Ricardo Colclough finished fourth in the national voting, while All-American quarterback Corey Russell also finished as one of the top eight national finalists for the 2008 award.

Haffly, a redshirt junior quarterback from Locust Grove, Ga., has completed 206-of-327 passes for 2887 yards and 27 touchdowns. He has 300-plus passing yards in seven of his nine games this season. On Oct. 24, Haffly completed 23-of-32 passes for 379 yards and a career-high (tying) five touchdowns as Wingate rallied for a 44-37 South Atlantic Conference road triumph versus Brevard College. The SAC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts, Haffly helped the Bulldog offense score 35 second-half points to pick up the important victory.

Haffly has thrown five touchdown passes in a game three times this year, most recently in Wingate's 48-29 victory over Mars Hill College Saturday. Haffly completed 17-of-27 passes for 321 yards and five scores as Wingate improved to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in the SAC. The Mars Hill triumph assures the Bulldogs at least a share of the 2010 SAC regular season title, the first in school history.

Haffly leads the SAC in passing efficiency (158.90); he is 11th in the nation in the same category. The Luella High School product averages 310.7 yards per game total offense, second in the SAC to national leader and Tusculum sophomore QB Bo Cordell (426.8). In 2009, Haffly completed 179-of-314 passes for 2281 yards and 21 touchdowns. He had only six interceptions on the 2009 season. Haffly was third in the SAC in pass efficiency (136.3).

"Cody Haffly's value to our team cannot be measured by statistics alone," Wingate head coach Joe Reich says. "When the games get bigger, Cody gets better. When the games are more crucial, Cody gets sharper. He is very deserving of this recognition."