Ole Miss LB shares incredible call with his dad after receiving Chucky Mullins Courage Award
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On Thursday, in front of the entire Ole Miss team, head coach Lane Kiffin announced that senior linebacker Tyler Banks was this year’s recipient of the Chucky Mullins Courage Award.
Banks has played in every game for the Rebels since stepping on campus as a freshman in 2022. But he has only seen major action on special teams with spot snaps on defense along the way. A Blackstone, Virginia, native, he was picked by Kiffin and the coaching staff as the upperclassman defender who embodies the spirit of Mullins.
In a release from the school, Banks said he wasn’t familiar with the legacy of the award before arriving at Ole Miss, but he learned quickly that the award was a goal he wanted to strive toward.
And when he was named this year’s winner, he was overcome with emotion. On Friday, the Rebels shared a special moment between Banks and his father that highlighted just how much the No. 38 jersey means to the senior linebacker.
“I’m proud of you, ya hear me?” Banks’ father said.
The award, sponsored by Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, honors the late Chucky Mullins, who had his Ole Miss career come to an end during the 1989 Homecoming game against Vanderbilt when he was paralyzed after making a tackle. Mullins passed away 2 years later.
Banks is the 35th recipient of the award.
“I just knew that was something that I wanted to be and embody. I’m just grateful. I’m going to do everything I can to live up to it too,” he said, per a release. “The most important question from the fans, ‘Are you going to wear the jersey?’ Every day. Every game. Home and away. Spot the ball. I’m wearing the jersey.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
