MANHEIM, Pa. – The Manheim Touchdown Club has announced the 31 nominees for the 2024 Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year among the 31 nominees for the award is Colorado State University Pueblo senior defensive lineman Makeah Scippio (Colorado Springs, Colo./Harrison).
 
The Gene Upshaw Award is nominated and voted on by NCAA Division II football sports information directors. Two finalists from each of the four super regions advance to the national ballot, with the national finalists announced on Dec. 4. The winner of the 2024 award will be announced on Dec. 12.
 
All the nominees for the Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award must seniors or graduate students and are lineman on either side of the ball at either offensive tackle, guard or center; or defensive tackle, guard or end.
 
Scippio, who is 6-foot-4, 225-pound defensive end, earns his Gene Upshaw Award nomination after being a Second-Team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference selection in 2024. On the season, he recorded 28 total tackles, including 13 solo stops and led the ThunderWolves in both sacks (9.0) and tackles for a loss (12.0) and was also credited with both a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.
 
Entering the Pack's second round NCAA Playoff game on Saturday with Minnesota State, Scippio ranks second in the RMAC in sacks and eighth in the league in tackles for a loss. His nine sacks are tied for ninth most on the school's single-season chart. During the regular season, Scippio was named an RMAC Defensive Player of the Week after recording a career-high four sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss in the Pack's 40-23 home win over UT-Permian Basin. Those four sacks are tied for the most in a game this season by a Division II player, while the 4.5 tackles for a loss are tied for 11th most in a game this season by a Division II player. His 30.5 career tackles for a loss are sixth on the school's career charts, while his 20 career sacks are fifth on the school's career charts.
 
Scippio is one of seven nominees from Super Region Four, which includes the Lone Star Conference, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and the RMAC, for this year's Gene Upshaw Award. The other nominees for the award from the super region are Bemidji State center Jake Gannon, Wayne State (Neb.) offensive tackle Jett Janssen, Eastern New Mexico offensive guard David Ma'ake, Chadron State defensive end Hunter O'Connor, Colorado School of Mines offensive tackle Nic Van de Graaf and Minnesota Duluth offensive tackle Aiden Williams.
 
He is the first Pack player to be nominated for the award since defensive lineman Ikenna Onwuasoanya was a finalist for the award in 2021. Former Pack player Darius Allen was two-time winner of the award in 2013 and 2014, while current Los Angeles Chargers defensive lineman Morgan Fox was a runner-up for the award in 2015 and recently retired Tampa Bay Buccaneers center Ryan Jensen was a finalist for the award in 2012.
 
The award is named in honor of the late Gene 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, who was 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. The award is presented annually by the Manheim Touchdown Club.