FULL LIST OF CLIFF HARRIS AWARD NOMINEES
BREVARD, N.C. - For the second time in the last three years, the Brevard College football team has earned a pair of nominations for the Cliff Harris Award - given to the best Small College defensive player (DII, DIII, NAIA).
Senior defensive lineman Jerome Bass and senior linebacker Steffon Canady earned nominations for the prestigious honor. Both Bass and Canady will now be put up for finalist consideration, which will be released on Christmas Eve, December 24. The winner will be announced on December 28, and will be honored at the annual Little Rock Touchdown Club's annual awards banquet on January 14, 2022.
The duo of Tornados are two of just 53 defensive players in all of Division III to be nominated for the award. Canady earns his second career nomination, while Bass garners the first nomination of his collegiate career.
Bass, a senior defensive lineman from Red Springs, North Carolina, helped lead BC's dominant defense that led the USA South in many team statistical categories including points allowed-per-game (15.4), total points allowed (154), total yards allowed-per-game (234.9), rushing yards allowed-per-game (67.5), sacks (36), and defensive touchdowns (three). BC's defense was third in the country for team tackles-for-loss (92), second for solo TFL's (70), fifth for TFL yardage (366), fourth for TFL-s per-game (9.2), tied-for-fifth in team sacks (36), and tied-for-fifth in sacks-per-game (3.6).
Bass led all Tornados with a school-record 20 tackles-for-loss in Fall 2021 to go along with 58 total tackles and eight sacks, which ranked fourth in the conference. Additionally, Bass' 20 tackles-for-loss ranked tied-for-fifth in the entire country at the DIII-level, while his TFL's per game ranked top-10.
Bass proved himself to be a versatile asset to the Tornados, recording snaps on offense and special teams along with his defensive duties. The senior had five rushing attempts for 42 yards, caught two passes for nine yards that included a goal-line shovel-pass TD, and even had a pair of kickoff returns for 40 total yards.
Over the course of his three-year playing career at Brevard, Bass was honored by D3football.com's Team of the Week in 2019 and earned an All-West Division Team selection in the Spring of 2021 to go alongside this Fall's All-Conference First Team honor. Bass was recently selected as a D3football.com All-Region 3 Third Team honoree.
Canady, a Glendale, Arizona senior linebacker became the first Tornado to earn USA South football defensive player of the year honors in the program's short time in the Conference in November. He tied for the conference lead in sacks with 10.5 and was second with 18.5 tackles for a total loss of 95 yards. He totaled 66 tackles, broke up three passes, recovered two fumbles while causing a co-League-high four fumbles this season. Against USA South opposition, Canady finished the year with a league-best 17.5 tackles for a loss and four forced fumbles.
Canady's behind-the-line of scrimmage disruptions caused 93 total lost yardage and included 10.5 sacks of opposing quarterbacks. For his efforts, Canady was named an All-Conference linebacker for the third consecutive year. Finally, he collected USA South Defensive Player of the Week accolades twice this fall en route to his Defensive Player of the Year and All-Conference First Team honors. Canady joined Bass as an All-Region 3 honoree, garnering a second-team selection.
The senior linebacker has put together a stellar three-year career at BC, beginning with 2019. Canady totaled 66 tackles and a single-season school record 11 ½ sacks that were a part of 14 tackles-for-loss. Canady was selected to the USA South All-Conference Second Team before earning First Team All-ECAC honors. Canady was one of two Tornados who earned a nomination for the Cliff Harris Award in 2019. The then-junior linebacker helped lead the Tornados to a program-best 8-2 record and the school's first-ever bowl game appearance. Canady tied a school single-game record in the Scotty Whitelaw Bowl in Pittsburgh with four sacks en route to a Scotty Whitelaw Bowl MVP trophy as the Tornados defeated Carnegie Mellon.
This season, Canady was selected to D3football.com's Team of the Week twice.
All told, Canady's 23 ½ career sacks and 38 ½ career tackles-for-loss are both school records, while his six forced fumbles place hin atop the BC football career record books as well. Canady's 18 ½ tackles-for-loss in Fall 2021 are the second-most in a single season behind his teammate Bass, who tallied 20 this season. Canady's 18 ½ tackles-for-loss was 10th in all of Division III football.
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-BC-