Ole Miss receiver A.J. Brown wins 2017 C Spire Conerly Trophy
Ole Miss sophomore wide receiver A.J. Brown won the 2017 C Spire Conerly Trophy Tuesday night. The award goes to the most outstanding college football player in Mississippi and is presented by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.
Photo credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics
Brown, a sophomore, is ranked fifth nationally in receiving yards (1,252), sixth in average receiving yards per game (104.3), and seventh in receiving TDs (11).
In the SEC, Brown is ranked first in receptions per game (6.2), first in receiving yards (1,252), first in yards per game (104.3), first in total receptions (75), and tied for first in receiving touchdowns per game (11).
Earlier in the year, the Starkville, Mississippi, native hauled in eight receptions for 233 yards and two scores vs. South Alabama, breaking Eddie Small’s Ole Miss record of 210 receiving yards set versus Vanderbilt in 1993.
In the Rebels’ win over arch-rival Mississippi State on Thanksgiving, Brown led Ole Miss with six catches for 167 yards and a touchdown. He became the single-season Ole Miss record holder in receiving yards with 1,252, passing Laquon Treadwell‘s mark of 1,153 yards set in 2015. He also tied the single-season record with 11 receiving TDs and became just the second Rebel ever to record six 100-yard games in a season.
A panel of sports media selected the winner after a six-day online fan vote conducted by C Spire at www.csopavoting.com.
Other finalists are: Alcorn State RB De’Lance Turner, Belhaven QB Hunter McEachern, Delta State RB Chris Robinson, Jackson State LB Shawn Bishop, Millsaps LB Jacob Kendall, Mississippi College DB Chris Manning, Mississippi State QB Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi Valley State DB Mark Pegues and Southern Miss RB Ito Smith.
The C Spire Conerly Trophy is named for former Ole Miss and NFL quarterbacking great Charlie Conerly. Six former Rebels have won the Conerly Trophy, including Stewart Patridge (1997), Deuce McAllister (1999), Eli Manning (2001, 2003), Patrick Willis (2006), Bo Wallace (2012) and Evan Engram (2016).
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
