Ole Miss Football’s JJ Pegues Nominated for 2023 Wuerffel Trophy

Ole Miss football senior defensive lineman and Oxford’s own JJ Pegues has been nominated for the 2023 Wuerffel Trophy, as announced by The Wuerffel Foundation on Thursday.

Pegues – who was also a member of the Wuerffel preseason watch list – is one of 102 nominees for the 2023 Wuerffel Trophy, which is awarded each season to the FBS player who best combines exemplary community service with leadership achievement on and off the field. The trophy is named after Danny Wuerffel, the 1996 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from the University of Florida who parlayed his success on the football field into a lifetime of service.

Pegues has started all six games this season on the defensive line, currently holding 19 total tackles (10 solo), 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks, as well as two pass breakups and a quarterback hurry.

Pegues was also named as a nominee to the 2023 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team this summer, and is coming off a productive first season with the Rebels in 2022. He appeared in all 12 games for Ole Miss on the defensive line in 2022, notching 26 total tackles and five tackles for a loss – including three sacks. Pegues capped off the regular season in excellent fashion as well, recording four tackles, one TFL and a pass breakup in the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State, where he also lined up on offense and hauled in a one-yard touchdown pass.

Pegues is heavily active within the Lafayette-Oxford-University community, partaking in numerous community service events such as Adopt-A-Basket, Feed the Sip, Reading with the Rebels, the Boys and Girls Club, the CASA of North Mississippi Adopt-A-Child Christmas Program, KD’s Community Fun Event, a water drive to assist the city of Jackson, Mississippi, and multiple efforts to help communities throughout Mississippi affected by devastating tornadoes this past spring.

Nominations for the Wuerffel Trophy were made by the respective universities’ sports information departments. An up-to-date list of nominees can be found at wuerffeltrophy.org.

Semifinalists for the award will be announced on Nov. 2, and finalists will be announced on Nov. 28. The formal announcement of the 2023 recipient is scheduled to be made on Dec. 7 during The Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN, and the presentation of the 2023 Wuerffel Trophy will take place on Feb. 17, 2024, at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia. The 2023 recipient will be invited to join Wuerffel in New York City to attend the Heisman Trophy ceremonies, including the press conference, televised announcement show, and the gala.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports