Seton Hill redshirt senior defensive lineman Dioh Desuah was named a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award, which recognizes the top defensive players in small-college football.
He is among 36 NCAA Division II finalists for the award named after the former Dallas Cowboys safety and Hall of Famer who appeared in five Super Bowls and made six straight Pro Bowls.
For the first time, there will be winner in Division II, Division III and NAIA. The winners will be announced Thursday.
The 6-foot-1, 285-pound Desuah, who is from Newark, N.J., was named to the DII Conference Commissioner’s Association All-Super Region 1 Second Team and was the PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year.
He had 39 tackles, including 14 for loss, and five sacks.
Congratulations to Dioh Desuah from Seton Hill University on your selection as a finalist for the 2023 D2 Cliff Harris Award! @SHU_FBALL @setonhill @DiohDesuah pic.twitter.com/baNiiitaDn
— CLIFF HARRIS AWARD (@CliffHarrisAwd) December 23, 2023
Junior linebacker Garrett Cox of Millersville and grad linebacker Tyler Whary of Kutztown also made the cut.
Fast fact: The Harris Award is nearly two feet tall and weighs 35 pounds.
Here is the full list of Harris finalists in Division II:
Jamae Blank, Jr., UNC-Pembroke
Jayden Broughton, Jr., Benedict College
Peyton Buckley, Jr., Augustana University
Garrett Cox, Jr., Millersville
Micah Cretsinger, Jr., Saginaw Valley State
Loobert Denelus, Sr., Benedict College
Dioh Desuah, Sr., Seton Hill
Willie Drew, Sr., Virginia State
Nick Evans, Sr., Charleston
Marquise Fleming, Jr., Wingate
Marcus Hansen, So., Bemidji State
Robert Holtz, Sr., Tiffin
Landon Honeycutt, So., Mars Hill
Giye Jenkins, Jr., New Haven
Josiah Johnson, Jr., Ouachita Baptist
Hayden Kelly, Sr., Texas Permian Basin
Mikael King, So., Tuskegee
Maven Kretche, Jr., Minnesota State-Mankato
Gary Lewis, So., Henderson State
Salvatore Lupoli, Jr., Bentley
Landry Mavungu, Sr., Indianapolis
Christian McCarroll , Sr., Grand Valley State
John McMullen, Sr., West Florida
Eddie Miller Garrett, St., Ohio Dominican
Rossy Moore, Jr., Mount Union
Rico Payton, St., Pittsburg State
Andrew Pitts, So., Angelo State
Nolan Reeve, Sr., Colorado School of Mines
Cam Rice, So., West Liberty
Clay Schueffner, Sr., Winona State
Melvin Smith, Jr., Southern Arkansas
Shon Stephens, Sr., Ferris State
Dakari Streeter, Sr., Missouri Western State
Tanner Volk, Jr., Central Washington
Nathaniel Wallace, Sr., Harding
Tyler Whary, Sr., Kutztown
