MONMOUTH, Ill. – For the second straight year a member of the Monmouth College football team has been named a finalist for the prestigious Cliff Harris Award which honors the nation’s top small college defensive player.
The Harris committee announced this week that Fighting Scots’ cornerback Micam Smith (Annawan, Ill./Annawan) is one of the finalists for the award, following in the footsteps of Matt Barnes who was awarded the same distinction as a linebacker one year ago. A senior, Smith was recently named a second team All-American by the American Football Coaches’ Association (AFCA) and a D3football.com second team All-West Region honoree. He is one of less than 30 Division III players to make the finals, which includes a similar number of student-athletes from NCAA Division II and NAIA institutions.
The eventual winner of the Cliff Harris Award and the top vote getters in each division will be announced Dec. 23. The winner will be honored at the Little Rock (Ark.) Touchdown Club’s annual awards banquet on Jan. 11 featuring former NFL star Marcus Allen. The winner will receive the $3,000 Cliff Harris Award trophy. Former college and professional greats serve on the awards committee.
