The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Riverside grad Jones gets Hill runner-up
The good news for Marc Jones after finishing second in the voting for the Harlon Hill Trophy on Dec. 14: Gannon’s junior running back has next fall to try to win the award for the nation’s top player in Division II.
Jones was the runner-up to winner Luis Perez, who is playing in a D-II national semifinal for Texas A&M University-Commerce on Dec. 16. Perez is the nation’s top passer in D-II with 3,737 yards and 38 touchdowns.
Perez had 44 first-place and 86 total votes. Jones had 22 first-place and 64 total votes. Jones was among a field of 10 finalists.
“I’ll be back next year, better than ever,” Jones said about finishing second in the voting.
The Riverside graduate had a record-setting 2016 season at Gannon.
The 5-foot-11, 225-pounder was a force in the fall. In 11 games, Jones rushed for 2,176 yards and scored 31 total touchdowns. His rushing totals are No. 1 in the nation for all divisions.
“Rushing for over 2,000 yards hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Jones said recently. “I’m proud of our entire offense. We take a lot of pride in running the ball, and we did it against a tough schedule with good defenses.”
Jones also recently earned first-team D-II AllAmerican honors by the Associated Press and the American Football Coaches Association.
He also had 2,464 allpurpose yards and scored 186 points. Jones averaged 8.09 yards per attempt, and his 197.8 rushing yard average is another stat that leads all of college football.
Jones’ top single-game performances this season were 354 rushing yards against Slippery Rock and six touchdowns vs. Edinboro. Both marks are Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference records. He was also named the PSAC’s Western Division Offensive Player of the Year.