SIOUX FALLS – Senior Dennis Gardeck of the No. 20 University of Sioux Falls Football Team (9-3) has been named a finalist for the fifth annual Cliff Harris Award, according to an announcement today by The Little Rock Touchdown Club and Wright, Lindsey and Jennings. He is among 30 NCAA DII finalists as well as 29 from NCAA DIII and 23 from NAIA.
 

Gardeck, who has been named to three All-American Teams in 2017, is the fourth straight USF player nominated for the award. He is also USF's third straight finalist for the Harris Award, joining 2016 All-American linebacker Michael Mehling and 16-time All-American defensive back Solomon St. Pierre in 2016.

The Harris Award is presented to the nation's top small college defensive player from among more 5,000 student-athletes at 500 NCAA DII, DIII and NAIA colleges and universities. The selection committee consists of former college and pro football greats including Roger Staubach, Lee Roy Jordan, Walt Garrison, Everson Walls, Charlie Waters, Bill Bates, Gil Brandt, Mel Renfro, Jim Hart, Cornell Green and Cliff Harris.

The award recipient, which will be announced Dec. 23, will receive the $3,000 Cliff Harris Award trophy, presented by Harris and featured speaker Archie Manning. The three previous winners included Pierre Desir of Lindenwood, Darius Allen of Colorado State-Pueblo and Marqui Christian of Midwestern State. Harris, who is from Des Arc, Ark., played at then-NAIA Quachita Baptist, now a member of the GAC, and played in five Super Bowls and six Pro Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys.

"Certainly, we are very proud of Dennis (Gardeck), who with his teammates led us to the NCAA DII playoffs in 2017," said USF first-year head football coach Jon Anderson. "Dennis had a standout season and part of a team that ranked among the top three in scoring defense, rushing defense and total defense. He excelled on the field but also was an outstanding student, who was one of the leaders on the team. Best of all, he is a fantastic person," added Anderson.

Gardeck was selected to the DII Associated Press and DII Conference Commissioner's Association (D2 CCA) All-American Football Team First Team Defense on Dec. 13 and the second team defense on the American Football Coaches Association Dll-American team on Dec. 5.  

Gardeck, who was a candidate for the Harlon Hill Trophy, had a special season on one of the top defenses in NCAA DII in 2017. A graduate transfer from West Virginia State where he was a three-time All-Mountain East performer, Gardeck had an impact on a USF defense that ranked second in total defense by allowing a program-DII best 244.3 yards per game. With Gardeck's contributions, the Cougars ranked third nationally in rushing defense at 67.8 yards per game. 

USF, which advanced to the DII playoffs for the third straight year, finished second in scoring defense at 12.5 points per game, allowing just 123 total points, a program DII-best at USF. The defense allowed opponents to rush over 200 yards once and held nine opponents to under 100 yards. With Gardeck's 14 sacks, which ranked second nationally, USF had the seventh most sacks nationally with 40 and ranked eighth in first downs allowed with 158.

Gardeck, who is in the Master of Business Administration program at USF, earned his fourth all-conference selection (three-time Mountain East honoree) and was named the NSIC Defensive Newcomer of the Year in 2017. He was named first-team All-NSIC, was fifth in NCAA DII with 1.17 sacks per game. Gardeck, who had a sack in the playoff game, had 13 solo sacks also second nationally. Including the 1.5 TFLs in the 24-20 playoff loss to No. 5 Midwestern State, he averaged 1.8 tackles for loss per game, which ranked 13th nationally. Overall, his 21.0 tackles for losses of 97 yards was the fifth most in NCAA DII.
 
In 2017, the senior linebacker recorded a team-best 75 tackles, including two double digit tackle games and nine in the playoff loss.  Gardeck led the NSIC in sacks and TFLs while also recovering a fumble, forced two fumbles and recorded a safety to clinch the 21-14 "Key to the City" game over city rival Augustana at Bob Young Field.   
 
In his first game at USF, he put together a memorable performance, registering a program-DII best five sacks in a 26-7 win over Minnesota-Duluth on the road on August 31. The five-sack performance by Gardeck against UMD was the single-best individual sack performance in DII this year.   Six times he had seven tackles or more, while recording a tackle for loss in 10 of USF's 12 games. He had two or more TFLs six times. Gardeck had a sack in eight games with two or more sacks four times.
 
Gardeck finished his career with 345 career tackles, 57.5 tackles for loss, 32 sacks, nine forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception.