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.

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.

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. In 2013, fans were allowed to vote on the award for the first time. Fan voting accounted for 10 percent of the total vote.

The trophy itself is a bronze casting, 19" high x 11" long x 7.5" wide, weighing 18.5 lbs. (8.4 kg). The trophy was sculpted by Bruce Holmes Brady, a Brookhaven, Mississippi native and graduate of the University of Mississippi. 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.

Winners

+ Conerly Trophy winners Year Winner Pos School Ref 1996 Tregnel Thomas RB Delta State The Best - and Worst - of 1996 Season 1997 Stewart Patridge QB Ole Miss Mississippi House Concurrent Resolution 103 1998 J. J. Johnson RB Mississippi State J.J. Johnson @ Debate.org 1999 Deuce McAllister RB Ole Miss 2000 Josh Bright QB Delta State Delta State honors its student-athletes 2001 Eli Manning QB Ole Miss 2002 Rod Davis LB Southern Miss Davis Wins Conerly Trophy, "Mississippi's Heisman"Davis Named Finalist For Conerly Trophy 2003 Eli Manning QB Ole Miss Davis Named Finalist For Conerly Trophy 2004 Michael Boley LB Southern Miss 2005 Jerious Norwood RB Mississippi State Mississippi House Resolution 19 2006 Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss Patrick Willis Honored with Conerly Trophy 2007 Damion Fletcher RB Southern Miss 2008 Juan Joseph QB Millsaps Joseph Wins 2008 Cellular South Conerly Trophy2008 CellularSouth Conerly Trophy Finalists 2009 Anthony Dixon RB Mississippi State 2010 Chris White LB Mississippi State Miss St. LB Chris White wins Conerly TrophyTherriault Among Top Three in Conerly Trophy 2011 Austin Davis QB Southern Miss USM Quarterback Austin Davis Wins 2011 Conerly Trophy as Top College Football Player in MississippiConerly trophy Nominees Gifted 2012 Bo Wallace QB Ole Miss Bo Wallace wins 2012 Conerly Trophy 2013 Gabe Jackson G Mississippi State Gabe Jackson Wins 2013 Conerly Trophy Ten Finalists Announced for C Spire Conerly Trophy 2014 Dak Prescott QB Mississippi State Prescott Claims 2014 C Spire Conerly Award 2015 Dak Prescott QB Mississippi State 2015 C Spire Conerly Trophy nominees 2016 Evan Engram TE Ole Miss This year's C Spire Conerly Trophy nominees 2017 A. J. Brown WR Ole Miss Ole Miss receiver A. J. Brown wins 2017 C Spire Conerly Trophy 2018 Jeffery Simmons DL Mississippi State MSU's Jeffery Simmons, Elgton Jenkins collect Conerly and Hull awards 2019 Kylin Hill RB Mississippi State Kylin Hill wins 24th Annual C-Spire Connerly Trophy 2020 Elijah Moore WR Ole Miss C Spire Outstanding Player Award Winners Announced for the 2020-2021 Seasons 2021 Matt Corral QB Ole Miss Conerly winner Matt Corral says he won’t skip the Ole Miss bowl game 2022 Quinshon Judkins RB Ole Miss 2023 Patrick Shegog QB Delta State 2024Jaxson DartQBOle Miss2025Trinidad ChamblissQBOle Miss

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.Kent Hull Trophy, tribute banquet announced

+ Kent Hull Trophy winners Year Winner Pos School 2013 Gabe Jackson G Mississippi State State's Gabe Jackson wins first Hull Trophy 2014 Laremy Tunsil T Ole Miss Laremy Tunsil wins Kent Hull Trophy 2015 Fahn Cooper T Ole Miss Ole Miss’ Fahn Cooper wins 2015 Kent Hull Trophy 2016 Justin Senior T Mississippi State Justin Senior wins Kent Hull Trophy as top OL in state 2017 Martinas Rankin T Mississippi State Senior Martinas Rankin Wins 2017 Kent Hull Trophy 2018 Elgton Jenkins C Mississippi State Senior State’s Elgton Jenkins wins Kent Hull Trophy 2019 Drake Dorbeck T Southern Miss USM standout Dorbeck wins Kent Hull Trophy 2020 Royce Newman G Ole Miss The Kent Hull Trophy2021 Charles Cross T Mississippi State Cross Earns 2021 Kent Hull Trophy2022 Nick Broeker G Ole Miss 2023 Cole Smith C Mississippi State 2024Albert Reese IVT Mississippi State2025Patrick KutasGOle Miss

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.

References

External links College Football Awards: All National and Conference Winners Through 2010