LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Northeastern State senior La'More Wise is a nominee for the Cliff Harris Award which is presented to the top defensive player in the country representing NCAA Division II, III, and NAIA football.

Wise is one of 51 NCAA Division II players nominated and one of 138 total players nominated.  More than 5,000 defensive players are eligible to win the award from almost 500 colleges. The $3,000 Cliff Harris Award trophy will be presented by Cliff Harris at the Little Rock Touchdown Club's annual awards banquet.

Wise was named Second Team All-MIAA after leading the conference with 11.4 tackles per game, and finished second nationally in NCAA Division II football with 8.1 solo tackles per game; he also ranks third in the nation in forced fumbles.

This will mark the fifth year that the Cliff Harris Award will be presented. Previous winners include Connor Harris of Lindenwood, Marquis Christian of Midwestern State, Darius Allen of Colorado State-Pueblo and Pierre Desir of Lindenwood.

Finalists for the award will be released on Dec. 20, with the Cliff Harris Award winning being announced on Dec. 23, and honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club's annual awards banquet on January 11, 2018.

The award is named in honor of former Dallas Cowboys great Cliff Harris, an Arkansas native who was offered only one college scholarship to then-NAIA Ouachita Baptist University. Harris was passed over for the 1970 NFL draft and signed a free agent contract with the Cowboys and then helped lead Dallas to five Super Bowl appearances during the next decade. The hard-hitting Harris played in six Pro Bowls and changed the way the position of free safety was played.

NCAA Division II Nominees
Andrew Benson, Sr., Assumption, DB; John Cominsky, Jr., Charleston (W.Va.), DL; Marvin Conley, Jr., West Florida, DB; Chasz Cosby, Sr., Saint Augustine's, DL; Kahzin Daniels, Jr., Charleston (W.Va.), DL; Adonis Davis, Jr., Florida  Tech, DL; Dennis Gardeck, Sr., Sioux  Falls, LB; Kiante Goudeau, Jr., Minot State, DB; Sterling Hammond, Sr., Virginia  Union, DB; Jonathan Harris, Jr., Lindenwood, DL; Kevin Haynes, Sr., Central Washington, LB; Jamarcus Henderson, Jr., Newberry, DL; Zuril Hendrick, Jr., Edinboro, DB; James Hickman, Sr., Saint Augustine's, LB; Luke Hrapchak, Sr., California (Pa.), LB; Myles Humphrey, Sr., Shepherd, DL; Garrett Jackson, Jr., Adams  State, DB; Jeremy Jackson, Sr., Arkansas-Monticello, DB; Chris Johnson, Jr., North Alabama, DB; Marcus Jones, Sr., NW Missouri State, DB; Markus Jones, Jr., Angelo  State, DL; Kyle Kitchens, Sr., Catawba, LB; Cameron Kohl, Sr., Ohio Dominican, LB; Monteze Latimore, Sr., Central Missouri, LB; Davondrick Lison, Jr., Southern Arkansas, DL; Tevin Madison, Sr., West  Alabama, DB; Marcus Martin, Sr., Slippery Rock, DL; Tyler Morrissey, Jr., West  Chester, LB; Jalen Nelson, Jr., Charleston (W.Va.), LB; Blake Nelson, Sr., Colorado  Mesa, DB; Brandon Payer, So., Colorado  State-Pueblo, LB; Evan Perrizo, Sr., Minnesota State Mankato, DL; James Prater, Jr., Ashland, DL; Max Redfield, Sr., Indiana (Pa.), DB; Brucks Saathoff, Jr., Texas A&M-Commerce, LB; Terry Samuel, Jr., West Alabama, LB; Nathan Shepherd, Sr., Fort Hays State, DL; Zach Sieler, Jr., Ferris State, DL; Andrew Spencer, Sr., Winona  State, DB; Yusef Sterling-Lowe, Sr., Texas A&M-Commerce, DB; Sha'Heem Stupart, Sr., Carson-Newman, LB; Tavierre Thomas, Sr., Ferris  State, DB; Osband Thompson, Sr., Tuskegee, LB; Landry Tullo, Sr., Delta State, LB; Ryan Weber, Sr., Malone, LB; Austin Weltha, Sr., McKendree, LB; Dean Wenger, Sr., Colorado School of Mines, LB; Tershawn Wharton, So., Missouri S&T, DL; Darius Williams, Jr., Colorado State-Pueblo, DB; La'More Wise, Sr., Northeastern  State, LB; Cameron Young, So., Ft. Valley State DB
 
NCAA Division III Nominees
Ricco Aaron, So., Dean, LB; Haston Adams, Sr., Mary Hardin-Baylor, DL; O'Shea Anderson, Sr., Washington & Jefferson, DB; James Bell, Fr., Texas Lutheran, DB; Michael Bianco, So., Becker, LB; Peter Casey, Sr., Chicago, DL; Jason Clayton, So., Puget Sound, DB; Austin Crow, Sr., Heidelberg, DL; Kam Dawtyne, Sr., Aurora, LB; Sean Egan, Sr., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, DB; Jason Farlow, Sr., Linfield, LB; Chandler Ferko, Sr., Wittenberg, DL; Drew Fitzmorris, Sr., Carnegie Mellon, DB; Max Garrett, Sr., Washington & Lee, LB; Nick Giorgio, Jr., Springfield, DL; Daniel Gonzales, Sr., Redlands, DB; Joe Granahan, Jr., Franklin & Marshall, DL; Chase Greenlee, Sr., Wheaton (Ill.), DL; Fred Hargrove, So., Otterbein, DB; Jaquan Harris, Sr., Framingham  State, DB; Jordan Hassan, Sr., Illinois  Wesleyan, LB; Harry Henschler, So., Wisconsin-Whitewater, DL; Darin Hungerford, Sr., Kean, LB; Nick Jacobsen, Sr., Wisconsin-River  Falls, DL; Todd Jeter, Sr., Westminster, DB; Austin Jochum, Sr., St. Thomas, DL; Andrew Joseph, Sr., Cornell, DL; Michael Joseph, Sr., Dubuque, DB; Nik Kelly, Sr., Southwestern (Texas), DB; Casey Kerschner, Sr., Widener, DL; Montel Lee, Sr., Ferrum, DL; A.J.LiCata, Sr., Alfred, LB; Mason McKenrick, Sr., John Carroll, LB; Shawn Miller, Sr., Delaware Valley, DB; Brandon Morris, Jr., Wesleyan, LB; Javon Muhammad, Jr., MacMurray, DL; Jason Nieradka, Sr., Brevard, LB; Tyler Olson, Sr., Central, LB; Ty Parsons, Sr., East Texas Baptist, LB; Jordan Powell, Jr., Widener, DB; Austin Pyka, Sr., Chapman, DL; Charles Riga, Jr., George Fox, LB; Mike Riley, Jr., Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, DL; Noah Risch, Sr., Wisconsin-La Crosse, LB; Kyle Schultz, Sr., Monmouth, LB; Niles Scott, Sr., Frostburg  State, DL; Ryan Slager, Jr., Grinnell, LB; Micam Smith, Sr., Monmouth, DB; Mamadou Soumahoro, Sr., Berry, DL; Dustin Tripp, Sr., Alma, DL; Patrick Vidal, Sr., Catholic, DL; Skyler Williamson, Sr., St. Lawrence, LB; Marcus Winters, Jr., Trine, DB; Andrew Yamin, Jr., Amherst, LB; Zach Ziemba, Sr., Plymouth  State, DB
 
NAIA Nominees
Dedric Allen, Sr., Missouri Valley, DL; Michal Arenas, Sr., Eastern Oregon, LB; King Arthur, Sr., St. Francis (Ill.), DB; Curt Boeke, Jr., Dakota State, DL; Resean Coleman, So., William Penn, DL; Tyson Cooper, Jr., Southern Oregon, LB; Josh Evans, Sr., Evangel, DL; Keenan Fagan, Jr., Rocky Mountain, DB; Jamarae Finnie, Sr., Langston, DL; Tim Hamilton, Sr., Friends, DL; Piercen Harnish, Jr., St. Francis, LB; Tucker Johnson, Sr., Carroll, DB; Josh Kock, Sr., Baker, DL; Tevin McCoy, Jr., Reinhardt, DL; Tionte McDaniel, So., St. Xavier, DB; Caden McDonald, Sr., Morningside, LB; Nate Moore, Sr., College of Idaho, DB; Trent Mueller, Jr., Lindsey Wilson, LB; Michael Nealy, Sr., Wayland  Baptist, LB; Andrew O'Hara, Jr., Concordia Ann Arbor, LB; Cameron Oshodi, Sr., Georgetown, DL; Chris Overton, Sr., St. Ambrose, DL; Darius Price, Sr., Siena Heights, DB; Tarance Roby, Sr., Concordia Nebraska, DB; Josh Schulte, Sr., Southeastern, LB; Thomas Sease, Sr., Dickinson State, LB; Evan Sprayberry, Jr., Tabor, DL; Xavier Story, Jr., Lyon, DB; Garrett Updegraft, Sr., Kansas  Wesleyan, LB; Shaquille Well, Sr., Grand View, DL; Tomunci Whitfield, Sr., Southwestern, DB; Cole Wiseman, Sr., Doane, DB