Harlon Hill Award Release
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Colorado School of Mines quarterback John Matocha is one of nine national finalists for the biggest individual prize in NCAA Division II football, the Harlon Hill Award.
Matocha is the fifth Harlon Hill Award finalist in program history, joining joining 2004 winner Chad Friehauf, 2010 finalist Clay Garcia, 2016 winner Justin Dvorak, and 2021 finalist and teammate Michael Zeman. Mines is the only program with two finalists active on its roster as Zeman finished fourth in last year's balloting. Matocha was also a nominee for the award in 2019.
Other finalists include quarterback and 2021 winner Tyson Bagent of Shepherd, Concord wide receiver Jarod Bowie, Newberry running back Mario Anderson, Virginia Union running back Jada Byers, Ouachita Baptist running back TJ Cole, Nebraska-Kearney quarterback TJ Davis, Ferris State defensive end Caleb Murphy, and Bemidji State quarterback Brandon Alt. The top two vote-getters in each super region advanced as finalists; a tie in voting resulted in three finalists emerging from Super Region 3. Three finalists are still playing as Bagent, Matocha, and Murphy are all in this weekend's NCAA quarterfinals.
The RMAC Offensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-RMAC selection, Matocha has had a superlative 2022 in leading the Orediggers (11-2) to their fourth consecutive RMAC title and a return appearance in the NCAA quarterfinals. Matocha has thrown for 4,038 yards and 41 touchdowns against only six interceptions, completing 69.5 percent of his passes. He leads NCAA Division II in touchdown passes, quarterback rating (183.37), points responsible for (264), and yards per attempt (10.0) while ranking second in passing yards and total offense (338.5 yards per game). With Matocha at the helm, Mines has the nation's #1 scoring offense (47.2 ppg) and red zone offense (96.6%).
An outstanding student as well majoring in computer science, Matocha was the 2021 and 2022 RMAC Academic Offensive Player of the Year and a 2021 CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-American.
The Hill Award is named for the late Harlon Hill, the former University of North Alabama standout who excelled with the Lions from 1950-53 before going on to fame in the NFL with the Chicago Bears. The winner of the 2022 award will be announced on Friday, December 16 and the winner will be honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club awards banquet in January. The trophy is awarded by the LRTC and the Great American Conference.
Mines' season continues Saturday as they visit Angelo State in the NCAA Super Region IV final at 1 p.m. CT.
2022 Harlon Hill Award Finalists
Tyson Bagent, QB, Shepherd
Jarod Bowie, WR, Concord
Mario Anderson, RB, Newberry
Jada Byers, RB, Virginia Union
TJ Cole, RB, Ouachita Baptist
TJ Davis, QB, Nebraska-Kearney
Caleb Murphy, DE, Ferris State
Brandon Alt, QB, Bemidji State
John Matocha, QB, Colorado School of Mines