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Chris Manning Named C Spire Conerly Trophy Nominee
Mississippi College senior Chris Manning has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2017 C Spire Conerly Trophy, which annually honors the state’s top four-year college football player, it was announced on Monday (November 20).
Manning (Section, Ala.), who started in the secondary in each of his four years with the program, led the Choctaws with 58 tackles, including 34 solo stops. He also had a team-high three interceptions, including two against nationally-ranked West Georgia.
Over his career, the Psychology major recorded 199 tackles with nine interceptions and was three times named to the Gulf South Conference FireSeeds Academic Honor Roll. Manning was also the GSC’s only nominee for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team in 2017.
Each of the four-year colleges in the state that play football select nominees for the highly-coveted award, which is named after College Football Hall of Famer Charlie Conerly, who starred for Ole Miss and the New York Giants of the NFL.
A panel of sports media select the winner after a six-day online fan vote conducted by C Spire. Fan voting begins on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 8:30 a.m. and continues through, Sunday, Nov. 26 at 5:00 p.m. at www.csopavoting.com. Fans can vote daily through Facebook, Twitter or text message.
The nominees from each school are: Running back De’Lance Turner (Alcorn State University), Quarterback Hunter McEachern (Belhaven University), Running Back Chris Robinson (Delta State University), Linebacker Shawn Bishop (Jackson State University), Linebacker Jacob Kendall (Millsaps College), Defensive Back Chris Manning (Mississippi College), Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald (Mississippi State University), Defensive Back Mark Pegues (Mississippi Valley State University), Wide receiver A.J. Brown (University of Mississippi) and Running Back Ito Smith (University of Southern Mississippi).
This will be the 22nd presentation of the C Spire Conerly Trophy. Ole Miss’s Evan Engram was the winner in 2016. Only two men have won multiple trophies, Eli Manning of Ole Miss in 2001 and 2003, and Dak Prescott of Mississippi State in 2014 and 2015.
The presentation will be held on Tuesday, November 28th at the Hilton-Jackson located at 1001 County Line Road in Jackson. The evening starts with a reception at 5:30 and the dinner and program at 6:30. Advance tickets for the evening are required and they are available at the Hall of Fame office or by phoning 601-982-8264. Archie Manning will be the special guest speaker that evening.
