JACKSON — Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald and Ole Miss wide receiver A.J. Brown head the list of 10 finalists announced Monday for the 2017 C Spire Conerly Trophy, which annually honors Mississippi’s top college football player.

Each of the four-year colleges in the state that play football select nominees for the highly-coveted award, which is named after College Football Hall of Famer Charlie Conerly, who starred for Ole Miss and the New York Giants in the NFL.

Ole Miss tight end Evan Engram won the award in 2016.

A panel of sports media select the winner after a six-day online fan vote conducted by C Spire. Fan voting begins Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. and continues through Sunday at 5 p.m. at csopavoting.com. Fans can vote daily through Facebook, Twitter or text message.

Fitzgerald is fifth in the Southeastern Conference in rushing this season, with 1,025 yards. He also has 14 rushing touchdowns and 15 passing TDs for Mississippi State.

Brown, a sophomore, has emerged as the SEC’s best receiver. He leads the conference in receptions (69), receiving yardage (1,085) and touchdowns (10). He’s the only player in the SEC with more than 1,000 receiving yards.

The other finalists are:

• Southern Miss running back Ito Smith. He has rushed for 1,226 yards and 12 touchdowns this season.

• Mississippi Valley State defensive back Mark Pegues, who has 41 tackles and two interceptions.

• Jackson State linebacker Shawn Bishop. The senior has 68 tackles, including 8.5 for loss.

• Alcorn running back De’Lance Turner. The senior has 1,262 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, and has also caught three TD passes for the SWAC East Division champions.
• Belhaven quarterback Hunter McEachern. The sophomore played in only eight games this season, but threw for 2,769 yards and 27 touchdowns.

• Millsaps College linebacker Jacob Kendall. He had 7.5 tackles for loss and five sacks.

• Delta State running back Chris Robinson. The senior has had seven 100-yard rushing games and scored 19 total touchdowns.

• Mississippi College defensive back Chris Manning. In 10 games, he has 58 tackles and a team-high three interceptions.