Ricardo Colclough Named to Harlon Hill Region Ballot

Thursday, November 6, 2003

RICARDO COLCLOUGH NAMED TO HARLON HILL REGION BALLOT

FLORENCE, Ala. --- A total of 24 candidates are in the running for the 2003 Harlon Hill Trophy as the NCAA Division II College Football Player of the Year and Tusculum College's Ricardo Colclough is amongst this elite group. The list of candidates was announced by the National Harlon Hill Award Committee Voting Coordinator Dee Corum on Thursday.

The list includes six players each from the South, Northeast, Midwest and West regions.

Colclough, a 6-0, 180-pound defensive back, has led the No. 21 Pioneers to a 7-2 record and are tied for second in the South Atlantic Conference. The Sumter, S.C. senior has emerged as one of the top defenders in the nation and is one of only two defensive players on the list.

Colclough is ranked amongst the national leaders in passes defended (18 - 4^th) and interceptions (8 - 5^th). Both are school single-season records and his 12 career interceptions at Tusculum are already a school record. Not bad for only two years at the Greeneville, Tenn. school

The 2002 All-South Atlantic Conference standout has also emerged as one of the best return specialists in the country. Colclough is eighth in NCAA II in kickoff returns (31.2 ypr) and 12^th in punt return average (14.4 ypr).

Colclough is the only player in the South Atlantic Conference listed of the six region finalists. Other players representing the South region are Montoya Brown of Ouachita Baptist, Brett Gilliland of West Alabama, North Alabama's Will Hall, Nik Lewis of Southern Arkansas and Derrick Wimbush of Fort Valley State.

He returned two kickoffs for touchdowns vs. Morehouse (Sep. 13). His 97-yard return is the longest in school history. Colclough opened the second half of that game with a 92-yarder for a score, marking the most kickoff return yards in a game (189 on 2 returns) and the first time a Pioneer returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. For his efforts, he was named Division II National Special Teams Player of the Week. He also accounted for two interceptions against Morehouse.

On Sep. 27, Colclough had another fine outing returning a punt 85 yards for a touchdown, the longest in school history. He also returned an interception in that game for 75 yards and a score.

Players are nominated and voted on by the sports information directors at the 156 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 Nov. 18.

The winner of the 2003 award, which is presented by the National Harlon Hill Award Committee, will be announced at the 18^th annual Harlon Hill Trophy Presentation Banquet on Friday, Dec. 12 at the Florence Conference Center. This year's Hill Trophy Banquet will also include the fifth induction into the Division II Football Hall of Fame.

- TC -

2003 Harlon Hill Trophy Candidates
Northeast Region	Pos	Ht	Wt	Cl	School	Hometown
Marc Eddy	QB	6-3	220	JR	Bentley	Southboro, Mass.
Dan Holland	LB	6-1	228	SR	Mansfield	Scranton, Pa.
Matt Kohn	QB	6-2	200	JR	Indianapolis	Adrian, Mich.
Mark Radlinski	QB	6-2	220	JR	Saginaw Valley	Caledonia, Mich.
Michael Tennessee	RB	5-9	210	JR	Grand Valley State	Sterling Heights, Mich.
Jimmy Terwilliger	QB	5-11	190	FR	East Stroudsburg	East Stroudsburg, Pa.
South Region	Pos	Ht	Wt	Cl	School	Hometown
Montoya Brown	RB	5-9	225	SR	Ouachita Baptist	Daingerfield, Texas
Ricardo Colclough	DB	6-0	180	SR	Tusculum	Sumter, S.C.
Brett Gilliland	QB	5-9	182	SR	West Alabama	Pensacola, Fla.
Will Hall	QB	5-9	176	SR	North Alabama	Amory, Miss.
Nik Lewis	WR	6-0	200	SR	Southern Arkansas	Jacksboro, Texas
Derrick Wimbush	RB	6-2	220	JR	Fort Valley State	Mauk, Ga.
Midwest Region	Pos	Ht	Wt	Cl	School	Hometown
Tim Battaglia	WR	6-3	205	SR	Minnesota-Duluth	Cloquet, Minn.
Kevin Curtin	RB	5-8	185	SR	Winona State	Midlothian, Ill.
Keith Heckendorf	QB	6-1	205	SR	St. Cloud State	Mosinee, Wis.
Justin Kammrad	TB	6-0	205	SR	Nebraska-Omaha	Council Bluffs, Iowa
Tyler Paul	RB	5-10	200	SR	Emporia State	Enterprise, Kan.
Jamaica Rector	WR	5-10	182	JR	Northwest Missouri St.	Celeste, Texas
West Region	Pos	Ht	Wt	Cl	School	Hometown
Drew Beard	QB	5-11	175	JR	SE Oklahoma State	Rush Springs, Okla.
Phillip Boggs	QB	6-3	220	SR	Midwestern State	Hallsville, Texas
Chaumont Bouknight	RB	5-9	195	JR	Western State	Denver, Colo.
Mike Miller	RB	5-10	190	JR	Nebraska-Kearney	Littleton, Colo.
Cliff Watkins	QB	6-3	235	SR	Tarleton State	Breckenridge, Texas
Larry Williams	RB	5-9	215	JR	Texas A&M-Kingsville	San Antonio, Texas