Finalist SRU's Litwin named one of the best players in DII
SLIPPERY ROCK — Henry Litwin can pencil in yet another accomplishment on his already decorated resume — Harlon Hill Trophy finalist.
Last week, it was announced that Slippery Rock University's outstanding redshirt senior wide receiver is one of eight players left in the running for the hardware, which is presented to the NCAA Division II College Football Player of the Year. Litwin was the only wideout to be included in the set.
“It's really cool just to be a part of that group of finalists,” Litwin said. “Just to be one of those last guys kind of shows that everything I've done is starting to pay off.”
He posted 67 grabs for 1,042 yards and 13 touchdowns this past season.
“Usually, for that award, it's all quarterbacks,” Rock coach Shawn Lutz said. “It's a pretty special thing for him.”
The other finalists this year are signal-callers Tyson Bagent (Shepherd), Austin Reed (West Florida), TJ Davis (Nebraska-Kearney), and Brandon Alt (Bemidji State) and tailbacks Calil Wilkins (Bowie State), Al McKeller (Northwest Missouri State), and Michael Zeman (Colorado School of Mines).
Litwin's inclusion as a qualifier marks the fifth straight instance in which a receiver has been recognized in the final group. Others to make the cut were Tarleton State's Zimari Manning (2019), Southern Arkansas' Ka'Ronce Higgins (2018), Central Oklahoma's J.T. Luper (2017), and California (Pa.)'s Garry Brown (2016). All four of those wideouts have spent time on professional football rosters.
“I think he's going to go down as one of the best in school history in athletics and definitely in Rock football history,” Lutz said. “You talk about a guy that does it off the field, in the classroom and on the football field. I don't know the last time we've had a guy that is one of the best players in Division II football and academically. It speaks volumes about what he's all about.”
Litwin is the second Slippery Rock player in as many seasons to be named a finalist. After setting the Division II record for points responsible for in a season, quarterback Roland Rivers III won the award in 2019.
“What an incredible thing for the Rock football program and the university as a whole to have two finalists, with Roland winning it and now Henry getting in the final eight,” Lutz said.
Making Litwin's showing this year even more impressive is the fact that it came when dealing with a mid-season quarterback change and even while nursing a broken collarbone.
“I went to the doctor just to get some X-rays and it was for a different injury,” Litwin said. “We were just making sure I didn't break something else.”
The doctor told him everything checked out, then asked how long his collarbone had been broken. Litwin was puzzled.
“I had, honestly, no clue,” Litwin said. “I've had pain there, but not anything that I thought was a broken collarbone, that's for sure. If I had to guess when it happened, I'd probably say three to four years ago.”
Litwin's numbers this year weren't as gaudy as they were in 2019. Lutz will point out, though, that he consistently faced double coverage. Teams switched up their defensive approach specifically to slow Litwin down, leaving others open.
“There was times where it was frustrating,” Litwin said. “There was times where I just had to do my role and open up plays for other players, which I was fine with.”
Litwin has also spent part of the week in Las Vegas as one of 13 finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which goes to the most outstanding scholar-athlete in the nation.
“Even though I'm not the type of guy that's going to be talking about it all the time and putting it in people's faces and stuff, it means a lot to me,” Litwin said of being a finalist for each of the awards. “The amount of people that have helped me even get to this point, whether through support or the coaches giving me opportunites, it means a lot to me because I was able to do that for them. It gives them something to talk about. It gives Slippery Rock something to be proud of.”
Only one pass-catcher has ever won the award, the honor going to Pittsburg State's Ronnie West in 1991. The winner of the Harlon Hill Trophy will be announced on December 17.
