Central’s Olson nominated for Cliff Harris Award
Central Dutch Athletics
PELLA — Central College football linebacker Tyler Olson (senior, Mapleton, Minn., Maple River HS) was announced Thursday as a nominee for the 2017 Cliff Harris Award.
The Cliff Harris Award is presented to the nation’s top small college defensive player from an NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III or NAIA school. The Central linebacker is one of 55 finalists from Division III and one of 138 finalists overall.
Olson had 107 tackles while starting all 10 games this season for the Dutch. He was tied for the most tackles on the team and in the Iowa Conference. He also had four interceptions, the sixth most by any player in the conference and the most by a linebacker. Additionally, he had two forced fumbles, five pass break-ups and two sacks.
He was named third team all-West Region by D3football.com after the season. The Iowa Conference chose him as the league’s defensive player of the week twice in 2017. First, following a 35-17 win over Simpson College on September 30 and second, following a 23-21 win over Luther College on November 6.
The Cliff Harris Award was presented last year to Division II Lindenwood University (Mo.) linebacker Connor Harris. The finalists will be announced next week and the winner of this year’s award will be announced Dec. 23. The recipient will be honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club’s annual awards banquet in January.
