NWMSU’s Sam Roberts Wins 2021 Cliff Harris Award

Northwest Missouri State Sam Roberts was named today as the winner of the 2021 Cliff Harris Award, given each year to the top small college (D2, D3, NAIA) defensive player in the country.

The award is presented annually by the Little Rock Touchdown Club and Wright Lindsey Jennings.

Roberts was a 1st team AFCA and DCCA All-American and a 2nd team AP All-American. He was the National Region 3 Defensive Player of the Year and the MIAA Player of the Year.

More than 5,000 defensive players from over 500 colleges are eligible to win the award. The $3,000 Cliff Harris Trophy will be presented by Cliff Harris at the Little Rock Touchdown Club’s annual awards banquet on January 14, 2022. Special guest speaker for the banquet will be NFL great Joe Theismann.