Burrow takes Heisman
LSU quarterback Joe Burrow stands alone today as the best college football player in the land.
He garnered the most first place votes in the history of the Heisman Trophy award with over 90%. Burrow and his Tiger teammates will play Oklahoma and Heisman runner-up Jalen Hurts in the Peach Bowl on Saturday, December 28th.
LSU and their two Heisman winners have a connection to Mississippi. Burrow's dad Jimmy grew up in Amory. Jimmy played quarterback for the Amory Panthers before moving on to Ole Miss as a walk-on for a short time before receiving a scholarship offer from Nebraska. Another native Mississippian to win the Heisman was the 1959 winner Billy Cannon. He was born in Philadelphia before his dad moved to Baton Rouge during World War II.
The Magnolia State high school football teams have produced only one Heisman Trophy winner. That honor belonged to Saint Stanislaus alum Felix 'Doc' Blanchard. Blanchard was also the first junior to ever win the award in 1945, playing for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He was nicknamed 'Mr. Inside' playing for Army coach Red Blaik. His backfield running mate and 1946 Heisman winner Glenn Davis was nicknamed 'Mr. Outside' by the New York press. Army was 27-0-1 in Blanchard's three varsity years.
MS/AL game goes to Mississippi
Wayne County's Armondous Cooley blocked an Alabama extra point in overtime to help lead the Mississippi All-Stars to a 17-16 win at USM. It was the fifth overtime game in the 33 years of the event. Mississippi is now 3-0 in games played in Hattiesburg. George County's McKinley Jackson was named the Outstanding Player for the Mississippi team. The Mississippi Coaches Association will host their North/South game this Saturday in Gulfport.
This Wednesday, many of our Mississippi high school football players will sign college scholarships as part of the early NCAA signing date. The next signing date will be the first Wednesday of February.
Other football news
Alcorn (9-3) will play North Carolina A&T this Saturday in the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta.
Former Ole Miss legend Eli Manning might have played his last game for the New York Giants. The 16th year veteran threw for 283 yards and two scores to lead the Giants past Miami this past Sunday. Eli is now 117-117 as starting quarterback for the Giants but did win two Super Bowls and two MVP awards in that game. He left the field to a standing ovation by the fans.
Odds & ends
A.J. Brown of Tennessee and D.K. Metcalf of Seattle are top candidates for the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Ole Miss defensive lineman Benito Jones was invited to play in the Senior Bowl this week in Mobile on the last Saturday of January. He will be joined Raekwon Davis of Alabama and Brian Cole of MSU.
Itawamba Community College linebacker Keshun Parker was named the national junior college Defensive Player of the Year.
The Mississippi Lady Bulldogs (7-2) dropped their second consecutive game with their Friday night loss to West Virginia. It was their first home loss in 45 games.
The San Diego Padres traded former MSU baseball great Hunter Renfroe to the Tampa Bay Rays this past week.
Dale McKee of Waynesboro has been writing sports in Mississippi since 1973