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Southern Miss redshirt sophomore defensive back Malik Shorts is one of 10 nominees for the 2021 C Spire Conerly Trophy, which annually honors the top college football player in the Magnolia State.

Shorts, a Bassfield, Miss., native, leads the Golden Eagles in tackles with 81 this season, including 41 solo stops, as well as two tackles for a loss to go along with team highs of two interceptions and seven pass breakups.

The other nine finalists include Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers, Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral, Mississippi Valley State running back Caleb Johnson, Mississippi College linebacker Jonathan Jones, Alcorn State defensive back Juwan Taylor, Millsaps College wide receiver Moïse Tezzo, Belhaven University running back Brad Foley, Jackson State quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Delta State linebacker Marvin Terry.

The 2021 C Spire Conerly Trophy finalists, in alphabetical order by school, include:

Past winners of the C Spire Conerly Trophy have included former Southern Miss standouts Rod Davis, Michael Boley, Damion Fletcher and Austin Davis.

The C Spire Conerly Trophy presentation is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 30, at the Country Club of Jackson (345 Saint Andrews Drive, 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. CBS football analyst Charles Davis will be the master of ceremonies for the awards program.

Now in its 26th year, the C Spire Conerly Trophy 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 football in Mississippi since 1998.

About C Spire

C Spire is a diversified telecommunications and technology services company that 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.

About The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame

The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame exists to promote, preserve and protect Mississippi’s rich sports heritage for this and generations to come. The Museum serves as a destination for sports legends to live forever through interactive displays and exhibits where visitors can play, live and dream. The 501(c)(3) organization recognizes excellence in athletics and contributions to sports. For more information about the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame & Museum, visit msfame.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mssportshofandmuseum or Twitter at www.twitter.com/mssportshof.