LITTLE ROCK, ARK. – Thuro Reisdorfer, a junior running back for the University of Sioux Falls Football Team, is among 36 student-athletes in NCAA DII nominated for the 2021 Harlon Hill Trophy as the Division II College Football Player of the Year.

 

Eight Harlon Hill Award candidates represent from Super Region 1, eight come from Super Region 2, 13 from Super Region 3 and seven nominees are from Super Region 4 which includes Reisdorfer, who was a captain and first team All-NSIC running for USF. He helped lead the Cougars to an 8-3 record, NSIC South Division title and fourth overall in the NSIC standings.  

"Congratulations to Thuro Reisdorfer and his selection as a Harlon Hill nominee.  Thuro is USF's third player selected for this honor in the last three seasons and it's a well-deserved honor for him and his teammates who helped make it possible.  Thuro is a complete player and positive team leader who gives his best effort every day to Sioux Falls Football," said USF Head Coach Jon Anderson.
 
Overall, this is the seventh time a USF student-athlete has been nominated for the award in nine seasons at DII. USF has had nominees in each of the past three seasons (Gabe Watson, 2018; Caden Walters, 2019; Thuro Reisdorfer, 2021).
 
The sports information directors at the 167 NCAA Division II football-playing institutions nominate and vote on the award. The 36 initial candidates will be placed on regional ballots and the top two players from each of the four NCAA regions will advance to the national ballot when regional voting concludes on Monday, November 29. The winner of the 2021 award will be announced on Friday,  December 17 and the winner will be honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club awards banquet on January 13, 2022. The sports information directors at their respective schools nominate candidates. The SIDs in those Super Regions vote for their top five candidates. The winner is then determined in a nation-wide vote of the Division II sports information  directors.
 
The group of 36 candidates includes 13 quarterbacks, 10 running backs, six wide receivers, five linebackers, a defensive line and a cornerback. The list features 17 seniors, 12 juniors, six sophomores and a freshman. 

A 2019 second-team All-NSIC selection, earned his second All-NSIC honor and first time on the first team in 2021. Reisdorfer led the NSIC and ranked 15th in NCAA DII in rushing with 111.5 yards per game and was second in the league in rushing TDs with 10 (31st in DII), first in the NSIC in average per carry at 6.4 (15^th, DII), third in all-purpose yards with 1,220 or 122.0 per game.
 
Reisdorfer was a major factor as the Cougars led the NSIC and ranked 18^th in DII in rushing yards per game at 217.2. A native of Sioux Falls, S.D., Reisdorfer finished with 174 carries for 1,114 yards, which was second in the NSIC and 20th in DII, and now has 365 carries for 2,366 career yards for 10th all-time at USF. He is just the fifth back in school history to reach 1,000 yards rushing in back-to-back seasons - joining David Ruter, 1996-98, Mike Dvoracek, 2004-06; Nick Kortan, 2001-02; and Nephi Garcia, 2013-14.
 
During 2021, Reisdorfer totaled six 100-yard plus rushing games this season and now has 11 in his career which ranks tied with Gabe Watson (2017-18) for seventh all-time at USF. In those 100-yard games, he had a high of 160 yards and three TDs against Concordia St. Paul and had at least 145 yards or better in five of those six 100-yard games. He also had 10 runs of 20 yards or more including a best of 64 yards.
 
As a sophomore in 2019, Reisdorfer rushed for 1,150 yards. He has 29 career TDs with 23 by rushing.
 
The Hill Trophy 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 National Football League with the Chicago Bears.