Defensive end Marquise Fleming of Wingate University has been named the winner of the 2024 Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award.
Fleming, who was the runner-up in the voting for the 2023 award, is the first Bulldog to earn the honor. Grand Valley State offensive tackle Gabe Brown was this year’s runner-up followed by Slippery Rock defensive end Todd Hill. The Gene Upshaw Award, open to senior linemen on both sides of the ball, is voted on by the nation’s NCAA Division II sports information directors and presented by the Manheim Touchdown Club.
A 2023 Harlon Hill Trophy finalist and 2024 nominee, Fleming led Wingate back to the NCAA Championship tournament in 2024 as the SAC Defensive Player of the Year. Fleming is college football’s active leader in both career sacks (38.0) and tackles for loss (71.5) among his 219 career total tackles, and he ranks fourth in NCAA Division II with 19.5 tackles for loss this season. His nine career forced fumbles is also fifth among active players in all divisions. Wingate’s defense ranks atop D-II in third-down conversion and red zone defense, third in total defense and first downs defense, and sixth in scoring defense.
Fleming has been well-rewarded in his career, including the 2023 and 2024 D2CCA Super Region 2 Defensive Player of the Year awards, two SAC Defensive Player of the Year honors, and he was a consensus all-American in 2023 after leading D-II in sacks. Fleming is a finance major at Wingate.
The award is named in honor of the late 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.
Since the establishment of the award in 2004, Fleming is the tenth defensive end to win the honor. He is the first winner of the award to come out of Super Region 2 and the South Atlantic Conference.
(Photos and bios of the finalists and photos of Gene Upshaw are below.)
2024 Gene Upshaw Award Final Balloting
1. Marquise Fleming, DE, Wingate
2. Gabe Brown, OT, Grand Valley State
3. Todd Hill, DE, Slippery Rock
4. Nic Van de Graaf, OT, Colorado School of Mines
5. Gage Price, NT, Harding
6. Jake Gannon, OC, Bemidji State
7. Jaheim Bassham, OC, California (Pa.)
8. Isaac Anderson, DE, Virginia Union
Previous Award Winners
• 2023 - Levi Johnson, Colorado School of Mines
• 2022 - Caleb Murphy, Ferris State
• 2021 - Dylan Pasquali, Ferris State
• 2019 - Austin Edwards, Ferris State
• 2018 - Markus Jones, Angelo State
• 2017 - Marcus Martin, Slippery Rock
• 2016 - Jordan Morgan, Kutztown
• 2015 - Matt Judon, Grand Valley State
• 2014 - Darius Allen, Colorado State-Pueblo
• 2013 - Darius Allen, Colorado State-Pueblo
• 2012 - Garth Heikkinen, Minnesota-Duluth
• 2011 - Joe Long, Wayne State
• 2010 - Brandon Fusco, Slippery Rock
• 2009 - Ben Staggs, West Liberty
• 2008 - Sam Collins, Abilene Christian
• 2007 - Brandon Barnes, Grand Valley State
• 2006 - Mike McFadden, Grand Valley State
• 2005 - Mike McFadden, Grand Valley State
• 2004 - Nathan Baker, Pittsburg State
