LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Saginaw Valley State University senior defensive back Nick Whiteside was named a finalist for the 9th annual Cliff Harris Award on Tuesday, December 27th, by The Little Rock Touchdown Club and Wright Lindsey Jennings.
The award is presented to the nation's top small-college defensive player from the NCAA Division II, III, and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
Whiteside finished the season with 30 tackles, two for loss, and two interceptions as he helped lead the Cardinals to the top of the team charts in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) with 18 interceptions. The SVSU defensive unit was second in tackles per game with 72 and third-best in points allowed (19.0), yards per game (323.3), and rush yards per game (97.5). He was named a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association and first-team All-GLIAC defense.
The winner of the Cliff Harris Award will be announced on December 30th, and will be honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club's annual awards banquet on January 13th, with featured speaker Joe Theismann. The winner will receive the $3,000 Cliff Harris Award trophy presented by Cliff Harris.
Whiteside is one of two players from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) on the list and is included among the 26 defensive players from NCAA DII programs on the finalist list. A total of 68 student-athletes were named a finalist.
Click here for the full story of how Cliff Harris went from a high-school player from Arkansas with only one scholarship offer to a five-time Super Bowl Champion and National Football League Hall of Famer.