Ole Miss Football Piles Up Preseason Awards

Ole Miss kicks off the season on August 29 but the Rebels have already been receiving a lot of recognition.
Photo by Nathan Latil/Ole Miss Communications

The 2013 college football season kicks off in less than a week, and the Ole Miss Rebels have been trending upward in the eyes of fans and pundits around the country.

After a turnaround season under first-year head coach Hugh Freeze that saw the Rebels go from 2-10 in 2011 to 7-6 last year, expectations have ratcheted up for Ole Miss. Freeze led his team to a BBVA Compass Bowl victory over Pitt and then signed a consensus top-10 ranked recruiting class in February.

With the heightened expectations have come numerous preseason accolades for Rebel players, broken down below.

Ole Miss begins the 2013 campaign at Vanderbilt this coming Thursday in front of a national television audience on ESPN. Kickoff is 8:15 p.m. CT from Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville.

2013 Ole Miss Football Preseason Honors

Team
National ranking: 25 (Sporting News), 28 (Phil Steele), 33 (Athlon), receiving votes in USA Today Coaches poll and AP poll
SEC ranking: 7 (Lindy’s)
SEC West ranking: 4 (media, Birmingham News, Sporting News, Athlon, Lindy’s)

Hugh Freeze
SEC’s Best Recruiter (Sporting News)
Nation’s fourth-best new coach of 2012 (Athlon)

Tyler Campbell
All-SEC second team (coaches, Birmingham News)
All-SEC third team (Athlon)
SEC’s No. 2 punter (Birmingham News)
SEC’s No. 3 punter (ESPN.com)
CFPA Special Teams Trophy Watch List

Tony Conner
Freshman All-America third team (Athlon)

Trae Elston
SEC’s No. 8 safety (ESPN.com)

Issac Gross
All-SEC fourth team (Athlon)
SEC’s No. 7 DT (ESPN.com)

C.J. Johnson
All-SEC second team (Birmingham News, Athlon)
All-SEC third team (coaches, media, Lindy’s)
All-SEC fourth team (Phil Steele)
SEC’s No. 6 DE (ESPN.com)
CFPA Defensive Lineman Trophy Watch List

Ja-Mes Logan
All-SEC fourth team (Phil Steele)

Mike Marry
All-SEC fourth team (Phil Steele)

Donte Moncrief
Biletnikoff Award Watch List
All-SEC second team (coaches, media, Phil Steele, Birmingham News, Athlon, Lindy’s)
All-SEC third team (College Sports Madness)
Nation’s No. 17 WR (Lindy’s)
SEC’s No. 8 NFL talent (Lindy’s)
SEC’s No. 3 WR (ESPN.com)
CFPA Wide Receiver Trophy Watch List

Aaron Morris
All-SEC second team (Athlon)
All-SEC third team (coaches, Phil Steele)

Denzel Nkemdiche
Lombardi Award Watch List
Nagurski Trophy Watch List
All-America fourth team (Phil Steele)
All-SEC first team (coaches, media, Phil Steele, Birmingham News, Lindy’s)
All-SEC second team (Athlon, College Sports Madness)
Nation’s No. 6 OLB (Lindy’s)
SEC’s No. 2 LB (Birmingham News)
SEC’s No. 8 LB (ESPN.com)
CFPA Linebacker Trophy Watch List

Robert Nkemdiche
SEC Newcomer of the Year (Lindy’s)
SEC’s Top Impact Frosh (Sporting News)
SEC Freshman of the Year (College Sports Madness)
Freshman All-America (ESPN.com)
Freshman All-America first team (Athlon)
All-SEC third team (Phil Steele, College Sports Madness)

Cody Prewitt
All-SEC third team (Athlon)

Andrew Ritter
CFPA Special Teams Trophy Watch List

Charles Sawyer
All-SEC second team (Birmingham News, Lindy’s)
All-SEC third team (coaches, media, College Sports Madness)
All-SEC fourth team (Phil Steele, Athlon)
Nation’s No. 12 CB (Lindy’s)
SEC’s No. 7 CB (ESPN.com)

Jeff Scott
All-SEC third team (media, Lindy’s, College Sports Madness)
All-SEC fourth team (Phil Steele, Athlon)
Nation’s No. 25 RB (Lindy’s)
SEC’s No. 10 RB (ESPN.com)

D.T. Shackelford
Butkus Award Watch List
Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List

Evan Swindall
Rimington Trophy Watch List

Laquon Treadwell
Freshman All-America third team (Athlon)

Laremy Tunsil
Freshman All-America (ESPN.com)
Freshman All-America second team (Athlon)

Bo Wallace
Maxwell Award Watch List
Davey O’Brien Award Watch List
Manning Award Watch List
SEC’s No. 5 QB (ESPN.com)

Jaylen Walton
All-SEC fourth team – KR (Phil Steele)
CFPA Kickoff Returner Trophy Watch List
SEC’s No. 8 kick/punt returner (ESPN.com)

-UM-
August 23, 2013
Ole Miss Athletics Media Relations