Story by Robert Wilson
Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin couldn’t think of a better person to win the prestigious Chucky Mullins Courage Award than senior linebacker Tyler Banks and he will wear Mullins’ No. 38 jersey.
Kiffin announced the award Thursday in front of the Ole Miss team.
Banks becomes the 35th recipient in the 36-year history of the award.
The award, sponsored by Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, honors 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. After returning to his studies at Ole Miss, Mullins passed away May 6, 1991.
The award is presented annually to an Ole Miss upperclassman defensive player that embodies the spirit of Mullins – courage, leadership, perseverance, and determination.
“I think about Chucky and what Tom (Luke, former teammate of Mullins and current associate athletic director for player development at Ole Miss) has said to me about him over the years and one of the things he said was how he showed up for teammates,” said Kiffin before he presented the jersey to Banks. “As you continue in life, the most important people to you that impacts you the most whether its family or close friends is that they show up for you. And when I think of this winner, I think of that. He shows up every day for his teammates. He has proven on the field, and he’s even proven it lately off the field. It is a tremendous story of him still being here and fighting through adversity and things not going exactly the way he wanted it to. When you come out of high school, it’s not going to go exactly the way you want it to. All this guy does is continue to show up and continue to battle and improve his play no matter what his role it is and I can’t think of a better guy to win this than Tyler Banks.”
“I love my Ole Miss family,” said Banks after he was presented the jersey. “I know the moment I committed here; it was home for me. It always will be. Like Coach said, all the adversity is all a part of life, a part of the journey, I knew that was something that was going to come with it. I never was going to quit or leave this place because this was home, and I was committed to it. Winning this award was a surprise to me because I just show up and do what I’m told to do each and every day. I’m going to continue do that for you guys. I know y’all would do that for me and I will do it for y’all. I will represent this number the best way I know possible.”
The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Banks, from Blackstone, Virginia, has appeared in all 39 games since arriving in Oxford in 2022 as a true freshman. He has been a key player on the Ole Miss special teams, with 31 tackles in his career, 14 last season.
Banks – a three-star prospect who chose Ole Miss over Michigan, California, Vanderbilt, and Virginia Tech – also represents the Rebels as a member of the SEC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Other Chucky Mullins Courage award winners are Chris Mitchell, Jeff Carter, Trea Southerland, Johnny Dixon, Alundis Brice, Michael Lowery, Derek Jones, Nate Wayne, Gary Thigpen, Ronnie Heard, Anthony Magee, Kevin Thomas, Lanier Goethie, Jamil Northcutt, Eric Oliver, Kelvin Robinson, Patrick Willis, Jeremy Garrett, Jamarca Sanford, Marcus Tillman, Kentrell Lockett, Deterrian Shackelford (twice), Jason Jones, Mike Marry, Mike Hilton, John Youngblood, Marquis Haynes, C.J. Moore, Austrian Robinson, Jaylon Jones, Keidron Smith, KD Hill, Cedric Johnson and JJ Pegues.
Ole Miss opens the season against Georgia State Aug. 30 in Oxford.
