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Mississippi's top college football player to be named from among 10 finalists for the 2014 C Spire Conerly Trophy Ole Miss' Senquez Golson hopes to be first defensive back to win award; Mississippi State's Dak Prescott vies to become eighth quarterback to win top college gridiron honor in Magnolia State

Mon Nov 24 19:59:00 2014 EDT

JACKSON, Miss., Nov 24, 2014 (BUSINESS WIRE) --


--Fan voting, which influences 10 percent of the award total, starts tomorrow

via social media and text message
Ole Miss cornerback Senquez Golson, one of five finalists for the Bronco

      Nagurski Award as the nation's top defensive player, and Mississippi

      State quarterback Dak Prescott, a likely Heisman Trophy finalist, lead a

      list of 10 nominees for the 2014 C Spire Conerly Trophy, which annually

      honors the top college football player in the Magnolia State.
Golson, who would be the first defensive back ever to win the trophy,

      and Prescott, who is currently ranked 5th on the Heisman

      Trophy watch list, 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 quarterbacks John Gibbs Jr. of Alcorn

      State and Tyler Sullivan of Delta State; wide receivers Julian Stafford

      of Mississippi Valley State, Greg Livingston of Belhaven and Daniel

      Williams of Jackson State; defensive back Dylan Klibert of Mississippi

      College and defensive ends Zach Bell of Millsaps College and Dasmon

      McCullum of Southern Miss.
For the second time in the award's history, fan voting will count for 10

      percent of the award and a panel of statewide media will make up the

      remaining 90 percent. Fan voting will begin tomorrow (Nov. 25) at 8 a.m.

      and conclude on Dec. 1 at 8 a.m. Just as the media voters do, fans will

      vote for a first place, second place and third place winner. Fans will

      be able to vote by 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 and qualifications on fan voting, go to www.cspire.com/conerly

      beginning tomorrow.
"Football fans across Mississippi are very passionate about their

      schools and the star players in their respective programs, especially

      with the success of so many teams this year. 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 Corporate Communications

      for C Spire.
The 2014 Conerly Trophy finalists include:
--

        Golson, a junior from Pascagoula, Miss., leads the Southeastern

        Conference and ranks second nationally in pass interceptions with

        nine. Golson also has been in on 35 tackles, three for losses. He has

        broken up a team-high seven passes and his interception in the final

        seconds sealed Ole Miss' victory over No. 1 ranked Alabama. He is also

        a national semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarick and Jim Thorpe awards,

        which honor the nation's top college defensive player.
--

        Prescott, a junior from Haughton, La., has led the Bulldogs to

        three victories over teams that were unbeaten and ranked among the

        nation's Top 10 when they played Mississippi State. He has passed for

        2,714 yards and 24 touchdowns and run for 891 yards and 12 touchdowns.
--

        Livingston, a senior from Houston, Miss., has averaged 122

        receiving yards per game with 117 catches for 1,341 yards and eight

        touchdowns for the Blazers.
--

        Klibert, a senior from LaPlace, La., intercepted two passes and

        was in on 48 tackles, including seven for lost yardage, for the

        Choctaws.
--

        Sullivan, a redshirt freshman from Louisville, Miss., has led

        Delta State to a 9-1 record and a first-round bye in the NCAA Division

        II college football playoffs. He has personally accounted for 31

        touchdowns in leading one of the nation's most productive offenses.

        His TD to interception ratio is 24-12 and he has seven rushing

        touchdowns.
--

        McCullum, a senior from Hebron, Miss., leads USM with 4.5 sacks

        and four forced fumbles. For his career with the Golden Eagles, he has

        7.5 sacks, 24.5 tackles for loss, seven pass breakups, five fumble

        recoveries and two blocked kicks.
--

        Williams, a sophomore from East St. Louis, Ill., had 63 catches

        for 909 yards and eight touchdowns for Jackson State and ranks third

        in the SWAC with 82.6 yards per game.
--

        Gibbs, a junior from Houston, Texas, guided Alcorn to a 9-2

        record and a SWAC Eastern Division title. He accounted for 29 Braves

        touchdowns, 18 passing and 11 rushing. He completed 164 of 294 passes

        for 2,237 yards and ran for 874 yards on 119 carries to help Alcorn

        score an average of 44.5 points per game.
--

        Stafford, a senior from Memphis, Tenn., lead Mississippi Valley

        State and the SWAC in every receiving category, including receptions

        (67), receiving yards (1,037) and touchdowns (9). He also returned 26

        kickoffs for 407 yards.
--

        Bell, a senior from Metairie, La., was a pre-season All-America

        candidate for Millsaps. He recorded a team-high 17.5 tackles for loss

        and 9.5 sacks in nine games. He also broke up six passes, forced a

        fumble and recovered a fumble that he returned for 60 yards.
Past winners of the C Spire Conerly Trophy have included such prominent

      future NFL standouts as Deuce McAllister, Eli Manning, Jerious Norwood,

      Michael Boley, Patrick Willis, Anthony Dixon and many others. Last

      year's winner was Mississippi State offensive lineman Gabe Jackson, now

      with the Oakland Raiders.
The C Spire Conerly Trophy banquet is nearing a sellout, but still has

      limited seating for the Dec. 2 program at the Mississippi Sports Hall of

      Fame and Museum. The second annual Kent Hull Trophy also will be

      presented to the top college offensive lineman in Mississippi at the

      event. A 5:30 p.m. reception will be followed by the 6:30 p.m. dinner

      program. Coaches and finalists from all the schools are expected to

      attend. For ticket availability or more information, call 601.982.8264.
Now in its 19th 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 diversified telecommunications and technology services

      company that provides world-class customer-inspired service and a

      superior comprehensive suite of customer-inspired wireless

      communications, high-speed Internet access and a range of other

      telecommunications products and services to consumers and 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.
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SOURCE: C Spire