LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas – Sam Roberts, senior defensive lineman from Division II Northwest Missouri State, was selected as the winner of the 2021 Cliff Harris Award presented annually by the Little Rock Touchdown Club and Wright Lindsey Jennings.  The award honors the nation's small college defensive player of the year representing Division II, Division III and NAIA colleges and universities.

Roberts, a 6'5", 292-pound, defensive lineman from Waynesville, Mo., was a dominant force on one of the top defenses in America, helping lead the Bearcats to a final national ranking of No. 4 and 11-2 record. He 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 Defensive Player of the Year. Roberts' disruptive play in the trenches was a key factor on the No. 2 nationally-ranked Bearcat defense finishing his senior season with 18 tackles for losses.

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.

"First, let me say congratulations to all of our 2021 Cliff Harris Award finalists and nominees," Cliff Harris said. "All of you have played tremendous defense this season and I'm really proud to have each of you associated with my name and football legacy through the Cliff Harris Award. As always it is extremely difficult to select one player as our winner when you have a group of 500 colleges and 5,000 defensive players from which to choose. Our 2021 winner Sam Roberts was a disruptive force from his defensive line position. His tremendous size, explosiveness and intensity was a key factor behind the Bearcats' top ranked defense. Congratulations Sam!"

For the story of Cliff Harris, go to CliffHarrisAward.com and read about his amazing journey from an overlooked high school player from tiny Des Arc, Arkansas, and one scholarship offer to then NAIA Ouachita Baptist University, to five Super Bowls, six Pro Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys, and was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame this past summer.