MANHEIM, Pa. – The Manheim Touchdown Club announced the eight finalists for the 2018 Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award on Monday afternoon and one of the two Super Region 3 representatives is Southern Arkansas Football's redshirt senior defensive end DaVondrick Lison.

Lison, a 2018 All-GAC First-Team honoree and the Great American Conference's Defensive Player of the Year in 2017, joins seven other of Division II's best senior linemen (4 offense, 4 defense) as a finalist for the prestigious award which has been given out annually since 2004.

A native of Arkansas City, Arkansas, Lison concluded his regular season as SAU's leading tackler with 61 stops (36 solo), including 18.0 tackles for loss totaling 75 lost yards. His TFL total was tops in the GAC and he ranked tied for second in sacks with 6.5 for 37 lost yards. In 2018, Lison recorded at least 1.5 TFL in seven games and had three games with 2.5 or more TFL.

Lison's 6.5 sacks this season gives him 25.0 as a Mulerider with one game to play (Live United Bowl vs. Missouri Western – Dec. 1). That total ties him for the career record at Southern Arkansas. During his stellar five-year stint in Magnolia, Lison broke the program record for yards lost on tackles for loss with 252, holds the program records in tackles for loss (54.0), quarterback hurries (25) and forced fumbles (13) and ranks second in yards lost from sacks (152).

In addition to the time that the fearsome defender spent in the opposition's backfield, Lison also registered three pass breakups, three quarterback hurries, and two forced fumbles. He scored eight total points on the season which included a game-changing 57-yard fumble return for a touchdown in a road win at then-#7 Harding and a safety on a 12-yard sack at Southwestern Oklahoma State.

Lison was honored as the GAC's Defensive Player of the Week following SAU's Week 4 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State which saw the defensive end total eight tackles (5 solo), including 3.5 for loss (22 yards) and 2.5 sacks (19 yards).

The award is presented by the Manheim Touchdown Club and voted on by the nation's NCAA Division II sports information directors. Two finalists advance from each of the four NCAA Division II super regions.

The national round of voting begins on Monday, Nov. 19 and closes on Monday, Nov. 26. The win­ner will be announced on Wednesday, Nov. 28. The award recipient has an invitation to participate in front of professional scouts and coaches at the East-West Shrine Game in St. Petersburg, Fla. The winner will also be recognized at the Manheim Touchdown Club's annual banquet in May.

The NFL recognizes, endorses and supports the winner of the award by guaranteeing a place in the all-star games. The support comes as recognition and appreciation for the late Mr. Upshaw, who was not only an All-Pro lineman for the Oakland Raiders, but later served as the executive director of the NFL Players Association for 25 years. Upshaw, a former standout offensive line­man at Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M Kingsville), was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987 in his first year of eligibility.