JACKSON, Miss., Nov. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award, and Ole Miss wide receiver A. J. Brown, one of top wide outs in the country, lead a list of 10 nominees for the 2017 C Spire Conerly Trophy, which annually honors the top college football player in the Magnolia State.
Fitzgerald, one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in college football, and Brown, who leads the SEC in receiving yards and touchdown catches, join finalists from eight other schools vying for the coveted award, which is named after College Football Hall of Famer Charlie Conerly, who also starred for the New York Giants.
The other eight finalists are Southern Miss running back Ito Smith, Mississippi Valley State defensive back Mark Pegues, Mississippi College defensive back Chris Manning, Alcorn State running back De'Lance Turner, Millsaps College linebacker Jacob Kendall, Belhaven University quarterback Hunter McEachern, Jackson State linebacker Shawn Bishop and Delta State running back Chris Robinson.
For the fifth time in the award's 22-year history, fan voting will count for 10 percent of the award and a panel of statewide sports media will make up the remaining 90 percent. Fan voting will begin tomorrow (Nov. 21) at 8:30 a.m. CST and conclude on Sunday, Nov. 26 at 5 p.m. CST.
Just as the media voters do, fans will vote for a first place, second place and third place winner on Facebook, Twitter and via text messaging. Fans may submit up to three votes per day during the voting period; however, only one entry is allowed per day for each of the social media methods. For entry rules, qualifications and to vote, go to www.csopavoting.com.
"Football fans across Mississippi are very passionate about their schools and the star players in their respective programs. We are excited to give fans the ability once again to help influence who wins the C Spire Conerly Trophy," said Jim Richmond, vice president of Marketing firC Spire.
The 2017 C Spire Conerly Trophy finalists, in alphabetical order by school, include:
Past winners of the C Spire Conerly Trophy have included such former and current prominent future NFL standouts as Evan Engram, Dak Prescott, Deuce McAllister, Eli Manning, Jerious Norwood, Michael Boley, Patrick Willis, Anthony Dixon and many others. Prescott and Manning are the only two-time winners in the award's 22 year history.
The C Spire Conerly Trophy presentation is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 28 at the Hilton Jackson, 1001 County Line Road, in Jackson. A 5:30 p.m. reception will be followed by the 6:30 p.m. dinner program and trophy presentation. Coaches and finalists from all the schools are expected to attend. For ticket availability or more information, go to msfame.com or call 601.982.8264. Former Ole Miss and New Orleans Saints great Archie Manning will be the special guest speaker at the awards program.
Now in its 22nd year, the Conerly Trophy presented by C Spire is named after the late Charlie Conerly ? the only football inductee in the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame who was an All-American at a Mississippi university, an NFL rookie of the year and NFL All-Pro member and quarterbacked a team to a world championship. C Spire has sponsored the outstanding player awards program for all major college sports in Mississippi since 1998.
About C Spire
C Spire is a leading technology company committed to transforming Mississippi through the C Spire Tech Movement, which includes the massive deployment of broadband internet to homes and small businesses, a state-of-the-art digital experience for its customers and team members, technology innovation leadership and the creation and retention of a 21st century technology workforce in its region. The company provides world-class, customer-inspired wireless communications, 1 Gigabit consumer Internet access as well as a full suite of dedicated Internet, wireless, IP Voice, data and cloud services for businesses. This news release and other announcements are available at www.cspire.com/news. For more information about C Spire, visit www.cspire.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cspire or Twitter at www.twitter.com/cspire.
SOURCE C Spire
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