Hector Johnson Nominated For 2022 Cliff Harris Award, Nation’s Top Small College Defensive Player

BEVERLY, Mass. — Endicott sophomore defensive end Hector Johnson (Worcester, Mass.) has been named a nominee for the ninth annual Cliff Harris Award, as announced by the organization earlier this week.

The Cliff Harris Award is presented annually 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.

Johnson is the third student-athlete in program history to be nominated for the Cliff Harris Award. He joins Tim Russell '22 (Stoneham, Mass.) and Sam Opont '21 (Bridgeport, Conn.) on the exclusive list.

Johnson will learn if he is a finalist for the award in the coming days. 

From there, a prestigious selection committee made up of former college and pro football greats will select the Cliff Harris Award winner, which will be announced on Friday, December 30, 2022.

The Cliff Harris Award winner will be honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club's annual awards banquet on Friday, January 13, 2022. 

The winner will receive the $3,000 Cliff Harris Award trophy presented by National Football League (NFL) Hall of Famer Cliff Harris, along with featured speaker and NFL legend Joe Theismann.

Earlier this season, Johnson was nominated for the Gagliardi Trophy, which recognizes the most outstanding football player in NCAA Division III. The award is the premier individual award in Division football and is based on excellence in athletics, academics, and community service.

North Central College (Ill.) senior running back Ethan Greenfield won the Gagliardi Trophy prior to leading the Cardinals to their second national title last Saturday.

Greenfield was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Division III National Championship Game.

2022 CAMPAIGN

Johnson's 2022 season was one for the record books.

The sophomore defensive end racked up numerous postseason accolades including Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Defensive Player and Defensive Lineman of the Year honors, the Hansen Ratings Region 1 Defensive Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, three All-Region selections, an All-CCC First Team nod, the NoontimeSports.com Player of the Year award, and All-NoontimeSports.com First Team honors.

In 11 games played this season, Johnson compiled 48 tackles (30 solo, 18 assisted, 4.4 per game), a single-season program record 14.5 sacks, 21.5 tackles for a loss (second in a single-season), two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, two pass breakups, and a blocked punt — which he muscled into the end zone for a 78-yard touchdown.

Johnson finished the year ranked inside the top-15 in sacks (5th, 1.32 per game) and tackles for a loss (11th, 2.0 per game) in Division III and first among his CCC peers.

His play also aided Endicott to the following Division III rankings: defensive touchdowns (1st, 1st in CCC, 7 TDs), fumbles recovered (1st, 1st, 17), scoring defense (2nd, 1st, 7.5 PPG), team sacks (5th, 1st, 3.73) turnover margin (1st, 1st, 2.18), and turnovers gained (6th, 1st, 31), red zone defense (17th, 1st, .600), team passing efficiency defense (14th, 1st, 95.84), total defense (15th, 1st, 242.0), and third down conversion percentage defense (13th, 1st, .277).

YEAR IN REVIEW

Endicott won a program-record-tying 10 games this fall and produced the first undefeated regular season in program history / Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) era. 

The Gulls also entered the national rankings for the first time in the 20-year existence of the program (2003-2022) behind one of the nation's best defenses, soaring as high as No. 22 in the rankings during the season. 

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(Photo Credit - Ryan Asia Atkins '22)