Virginia Union's Curtis Allen Wins Harlon Hill Award
December 19th, 2025 10:00am
Virginia Union’s Curtis Allen Wins 2025 Harlon Hill Award
By Chuck Bitner, D2Football.com
Virginia Union running back Curtis Allen has been named the winner of the 2025 Harlon Hill Award, presented annually to the NCAA Division II Football Player of the Year. Allen becomes the first player in program history—and the first from any CIAA school—to earn the award. Allen finished first in the voting with a total of 193 points. Harding running back Andrew Miller and Indianapolis quarterback Gavin Sukup tied for second place with a 101 total points. Minnesota Moorhead quarterback Jack Strand placed fourth, followed by Kutztown's Judd Novak in fifth. Completing the field were Newberry's Reed Charpia, Western Colorado's Drew Nash and West Florida's Marus Stokes.
The Harlon Hill Trophy is being awarded for the 39th time in 2025, and Allen is the 33rd individual recipient. He is the 14th running back to claim the award, but the first since Bloomsburg’s Franklyn Quiteh in 2013. The trophy had been awarded to a quarterback for the past ten seasons, consecutively.
From mid-season through the end of the regional playoff brackets, Allen was the clear favorite to win the award. He finished the year leading Division II in total rushing yards, rushing yards per game, rushing touchdowns, total points scored, and points per game. He finished fourth nationally in yards per carry. Across all NCAA divisions, he is one of only two players to surpass 2,000 rushing yards, and the only one from Division II. His 30 rushing touchdowns lead all NCAA divisions, while his total rushing yards and yards per game rank second among all NCAA athletes.
Allen competed in 12 games, including a conference championship and a first-round playoff contest. He rushed for over 100 yards and scored at least one touchdown in all 12 games. He rushed for over 150 yards in ten games, including a stretch of eight in a row heading into the postseason. He eclipsed the 200-yard milestone four times, highlighted by a school record 369 yards in a Nov. 1 contest at Bluefield State.
Following the regular season, Allen was named the CIAA Offensive Player of the Year and earned the same honor from the D2 Conference Commissioners Association’s Super Region One team. Most recently, he was selected as a First-Team All-American and Offensive Player of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).
A senior from Petersburg, Virginia, Allen is a graduate of Prince George High School and has spent all four years of his collegiate career at Virginia Union. He concludes his career with 3,819 rushing yards and 51 touchdowns.
Harlon Hill Award Announcement
Curtis Allen’s season highlights
Note: all statistics listed are official NCAA statistics, with national rank in parentheses.
Total Rushing Yards: 2,386 (1st)
Rushing Yards Per Game: 198.8 (1st)
Rushing Touchdowns: 30 (1st)
Total Points Scored: 180 (1st)
Points Per Game: 15.0 (1st)
Rushing Yards Per Carry: 8.03 (4th)
Postseason honors
CIAA Offensive Player of the Year
First team All-CIAA
D2CCA Offensive Player of the Year
First team All-Region (SR1)
AFCA first team All-America
AFCA offensive Player of the Year
Curtis Allen’s performance by week
Game Date
Opponent
Carries
Yards
YPC
TDs
Team result
Aug. 31
Miles
17
182
10.9
2
W
Sept. 13
Edward Waters
24
167
7
2
L
Sept. 20
JCSU
23
108
4.7
4
W
Sept. 27
Shaw
17
278
16.4
2
W
Oct. 4
WSSU
34
249
7.3
4
W
Oct. 11
ECSU
30
185
6.2
2
W
Oct. 18
Lincoln
24
208
8.7
3
W
Oct. 25
Bowie State
30
198
6.6
1
W
Nov. 1
Bluefield State
26
369
14.2
5
W
Nov. 8
Virginia State
26
151
5.8
2
W
Nov. 15
JCSU
25
183
7.3
2
L
Nov. 22
California
21
128
6.1
1
L
About the Harlon Hill Award
The Harlon Hill Award is named in honor of the late Harlon Hill, a former standout player at what is now known as The University of North Alabama. The award has been presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division II football since its inception in 1986. Sports Information directors at the football-playing members of Division II nominate candidates (one nominee per school) and vote on the candidates regionally. From the regional voting of nominees, two players per region advance to the national ballot. National votes from the sports information directors determine the winner.
The award has been presented to a quarterback 21 times. Running backs have claimed the award 15 times. A single wide receiver has won the award as well as one player from the defensive side of the ball. There have been five multiple-time winners, with all five winning the award in consecutive seasons. Johnny Bailey is the only three-time winner in the award’s history.
