Conerly Trophy

The C Spire Conerly Trophy is an award given annually to the best college football player in the state of Mississippi by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.^[1]

Conerly Trophy

Awarded for	The best college football player in the state of Mississippi
Location	Mississippi
Country	United States
Presented by	Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame
History
First award	1996
Most recent	Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss
Website	Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Events

Background

The award was begun in 1996 and has been sponsored by C Spire Wireless, formerly known as Cellular South, since 1998. Previous presentations have been held in Jackson, Clarksdale, Tunica and Biloxi. The namesake of the award is Mississippi-born Charlie Conerly who played quarterback for the Ole Miss Rebels.^[2]

Sixty media representatives from across Mississippi determine the winner. All players at Mississippi's four-year college football programs are eligible on the first ballot. Previously, the top three vote-getters were listed on a second and final ballot, but starting with the 2011 award, each of the four-year colleges and universities in Mississippi that field football teams are represented by one finalist.^[3] In 2013, fans were allowed to vote on the award for the first time. Fan voting accounted for 10 percent of the total vote.^[4]

The trophy itself is a bronze casting, 19" high x 11" long x 7.5" wide, weighing 18.5 lbs. (8.4 kg).^[2] The trophy was sculpted by Bruce Holmes Brady, a Brookhaven, Mississippi native and graduate of the University of Mississippi.^[5] The original trophy is on permanent display at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. A replica of the trophy is presented to the winner each year at the announcement dinner.^[2]

Winners

Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning won the Conerly Trophy in 2001 and 2003.

Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott won the Conerly Trophy in 2014 and 2015.

Conerly Trophy winners

Year	Winner	Pos	School	Ref
1996	Tregnel Thomas	RB	Delta State	[6]
1997	Stewart Patridge	QB	Ole Miss	[7]
1998	J. J. Johnson	RB	Mississippi State	[8]
1999	Deuce McAllister	RB	Ole Miss	[9]
2000	Josh Bright	QB	Delta State	[10]
2001	Eli Manning	QB	Ole Miss	[11]
2002	Rod Davis	LB	Southern Miss	[12][13]
2003	Eli Manning	QB	Ole Miss	[14][15]
2004	Michael Boley	LB	Southern Miss	[16]
2005	Jerious Norwood	RB	Mississippi State	[17]
2006	Patrick Willis	LB	Ole Miss	[18]
2007	Damion Fletcher	RB	Southern Miss	[19]
2008	Juan Joseph	QB	Millsaps	[20][21]
2009	Anthony Dixon	RB	Mississippi State	[22]
2010	Chris White	LB	Mississippi State	[23][24]
2011	Austin Davis	QB	Southern Miss	[25][26]
2012	Bo Wallace	QB	Ole Miss	[27][28]
2013	Gabe Jackson	G	Mississippi State	[29][30]
2014	Dak Prescott	QB	Mississippi State	[31]
2015	Dak Prescott	QB	Mississippi State	[32][33]
2016	Evan Engram	TE	Ole Miss	[34]
2017	A. J. Brown	WR	Ole Miss	[35]
2018	Jeffery Simmons	DL	Mississippi State	[36]
2019	Kylin Hill	RB	Mississippi State	[37]
2020	Elijah Moore	WR	Ole Miss	[38]
2021	Matt Corral	QB	Ole Miss	[39][40]
2022	Quinshon Judkins	RB	Ole Miss	[41][42]
2023	Patrick Shegog	QB	Delta State	[43][44]
2024	Jaxson Dart	QB	Ole Miss	[45][46]

Kent Hull Trophy

Starting in 2013, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame began awarding a second award, the Kent Hull Trophy, for the best college offensive lineman in Mississippi.^[47]

Kent Hull Trophy winners

Year	Winner	Pos	School	Ref.
2013	Gabe Jackson	G	Mississippi State	[48]
2014	Laremy Tunsil	T	Ole Miss	[49]
2015	Fahn Cooper	T	Ole Miss	[50]
2016	Justin Senior	T	Mississippi State	[51]
2017	Martinas Rankin	T	Mississippi State	[52]
2018	Elgton Jenkins	C	Mississippi State	[53]
2019	Drake Dorbeck	T	Southern Miss	[54]
2020	Royce Newman	G	Ole Miss	[55]
2021	Charles Cross	T	Mississippi State	[56]
2022	Nick Broeker	G	Ole Miss	[57]
2023	Cole Smith	C	Mississippi State	[58]
2024	Albert Reese IV	T	Mississippi State	[59]

See also

• Howell Trophy - award given annually to the best men's college basketball player in the state of Mississippi by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
• Gillom Trophy - award given annually to the best women's college basketball player in the state of Mississippi by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
• C Spire Ferriss Trophy - award given annually to the best men's college baseball player in the state of Mississippi by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.