Harlon Hill Banquet Video

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Colorado School of Mines quarterback John Matocha was presented with the Harlon Hill Trophy on Friday at the Little Rock Touchdown Club's annual banquet, marking the conclusion of one of the best all-around individual seasons in NCAA Division II history. 

Matocha was announced as the winner of the award on Dec. 16 while in Texas for the national championship game, and traveled to Little Rock this week to accept the trophy, which stands 30 inches tall and weighs more than 60 pounds. He is the third Oredigger winner joining Chad Friehauf (2004) and Justin Dvorak (2016), making Mines the first and only program in Division II to have three different recipients.

Matocha's list of accolades in 2022 was impressive. Named the D2CCA Ron Lenz National Offensive Player of the Year, the D2Football.com Offensive Player of the Year, and an all-American by four different organizations, Matocha was also recognized as the Offensive Player of the Year by the RMAC, the National Football Foundation Colorado, and in Super Region 4 by the D2CCA. He led NCAA Division II in passing yards (4,778, a new Mines record), passing touchdowns (52), pass efficiency (178.8), and points responsible for (342), and his 5,221 total yards marked the third most-productive season in D-II history. 

Matocha ended the regular season clearly in contention for the Harlon Hill, but cemented his status as the winner with an extraordinary postseason. In five playoff games, Matocha accounted for 23 total touchdowns, more than double any other player in this year's NCAA Division II tournament, including a star-making six total touchdowns (four passing, two rushing) in the Super Region 4 final at Angelo State. He outdueled 2021 winner Tyson Bagent in the national semifinal on national television, throwing for 371 yards on 28-of-34 passing and producing five touchdowns in the final game before the award was announced. 

Also an outstanding student as a senior majoring in computer science, Matocha was named the CSC Academic All-American of the Year as the top student-athlete in D-II football, becoming only the fifth player to win that and the Harlon Hill in the same season. Matocha was also the RMAC Offensive Academic Player of the Year and is a two-time First-Team Academic All-American. 

The Hill Award 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 NFL with the Chicago Bears. The award is presented by the Great American Conference and Little Rock Touchdown Club, and is presented annually at the LRTC's banquet along with several other national awards including the Cliff Harris Award. Hall of Fame quarterback and broadcaster Joe Theismann was the keynote speaker.