UCM Mules QB wins Division II football’s equivalent of the prestigious Heisman Trophy
As if UCM Mules fans needed any such reminder, the top player in NCAA Division II football resides in Warrensburg, Missouri.
The Great American Conference and Little Rock Touchdown Club on Friday revealed Central Missouri quarterback Zach Zebrowski as the winner of the 2023 Harlon Hill Trophy — Division II’s equivalent of the prestigious Heisman Trophy.
Zebrowski, a redshirt junior from Woodbury, Minnesota, enjoyed a record-breaking season for the 11-2 Mules.
He led Division II in total offense (437.7 yards per game), passing yards (5,157), passing touchdowns (61), points responsible for (380), points responsible for per game (29.2) and passing yards per game (396.7).
Along the way, he set new Division II records for passing touchdowns (61), total offensive yards (5,690), points responsible for (380) and TDs responsible for (63 — 61 passing, two rushing).
Zebrowski is the first Division II quarterback — and just the sixth in all of college football — to throw for at least 60 touchdowns in a season. And getting there was half the fun for Mules fans.
Against then-No. 23-ranked Emporia State on Oct. 21, Zebrowski established new UCM and MIAA records for passing TDs (eight), passing yards (615) and total offense (673 yards). The Mules beat the Hornets by a basketball score that day, 77-27.
It’s the second time in program history that a UCM player has won the Harlon Hill award. Former UCM All-American quarterback Eric Czerniewski was the winner in 2010.
Among his other accolades, Zebrowski also earned the 2023 MIAA Offensive Player of the Year and D2CCA Super Region III Offensive Player of the Year awards. He earned first-team All-MIAA, D2CCA Super Region III and D2CCA All-American honors.
Sports information directors from 161 Division II football-playing institutions nominate and then vote on Harlon Hill candidates. There were 38 initially; the top two from each of the four NCAA regions advanced to the national ballot, and voting concluded Monday.
Zebrowski, the son of Kansas Jayhawks co-offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski, will be presented the Harlon Hill Trophy at the Little Rock Touchdown Club Awards Banquet on Jan. 12 in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The award is named in honor of Hill, a former North Alabama standout (1950-53) who later starred for the Chicago Bears in the NFL.
This story was originally published December 15, 2023 at 10:55 AM.