Fitzgerald, Brown favorites to win Conerly Trophy

A Mississippi State Bulldog and a former Starkville Yellowjacket are the two favorites to win the C Spire Conerly Trophy when the award is presented later today.

MSU quarterback Nick Fitzgerald and Ole Miss wide receiver A.J. Brown, who starred at Starkville High School in his prep days, each have the chance to win the Conerly when it’s given out tonight in Jackson. The C Spire Conerly Trophy is presented annually to the best college football player in the state of Mississippi. Brown might just be the man to beat for the honor. It was announced on Sunday that Brown won the fan voting portion of the award, which counts for 10 percent of the final decision. A panel of statewide sports media members decide the remaining 90 percent.

Brown set the single-season record in receiving yardage for Ole Miss this year. He totaled 1,252 yards. He also tied the singleseason record for most receiving touchdowns for the Rebels with 11 and became the second Ole Miss player in history to record six different 100yard receiving games in one season.

Fitzgerald, who saw his season end with an ankle injury in the first quarter of MSU’s game against Ole Miss, proved to be one of the country’s best dual-threat quarterbacks in 2017. He passed for 1,782 yards and 15 touchdowns and rushed for 984 yards and 14 more scores.

Brown and Fitzgerald are two of 10 candidates in consideration for the C Spire Conerly Trophy. The remaining candidates are Alcorn State running back De’Lance Turner, Southern Miss running back Ito Smith, Mississippi Valley State defensive back Mark Pegues, Mississippi College defensive back Chris Manning, Millsaps College linebacker Jacob Kendall, Belhaven University quarterback Hunter McEachern, Jackson State linebacker Shawn Bishop and Delta State running back Chris Robinson.