Ole Miss’ Shackelford Named Senior CLASS Award Candidate

Ole Miss linebacker Deterrian Shackelford is one of 30 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision student-athletes who have been selected as candidates for the 2014 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate football.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I FBS senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
Shackelford, who is competing in his sixth year with the Rebels, has proven his commitment in all of those areas throughout his college tenure. He already holds a bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in English, and a master’s degree in higher education. The Decatur, Alabama, native is a five-time selection to the SEC Academic Honor Roll and was a semifinalist for the 2013 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award.
In the community, Shackelford has led group of Ole Miss football players on mission trips to Panama and Haiti each of the last two spring breaks. He spent one summer as a pre-college program counselor for Ole Miss’ Division of Outreach and Continuing Education and counseling programs Gear Up and JumpStart. He has volunteered his time to numerous different charities and events and has been selected to the 2013 and 2014 SEC Community Service Teams and is a two-time nominee for the AFCA Good Works Team.
Respected by his coaches and teammates as a man of high character, he has been a leader in the locker room for several years now. The Rebels’ starting middle linebacker this season, after playing both linebacker and defensive end a year ago, including a big game in the Music City Bowl victory that landed him on ESPN’s SEC All-Bowl team. He has come back very strong after missing the entire 2011 and 2012 seasons with knee injury. He is the only two-time Chucky Mullins Courage Award winner in school history.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the football bowl season in early January.
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Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports Information