• Fresh-McNelly Award Winner: The Top Freshman DB in all the land.

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Similar to how Leander McNelly and his 5’5 frame were easy to overlook, it’s easy to overlook freshman defensive backs who are courageously playing week in and week out for their team. Perhaps they haven’t been identified as leaders just yet, but their day will come.

–We had four finalists for the inaugural Fresh McNelly Award coming into the final week of the season, so which of them won?

Well, it just so happens that it has been decided, but before crowing the winner, let’s remember each finalist.

Fresh-McNelly Award Finalists:

• Ty Redmond/ Tennessee

3 tackles, an Interception, and 95 Snaps is what Redmond recorded against Heisman candidate Gunner Stockton and Georgia. 95 snaps led the entire team in that game. Hard not to appreciate a freshman leading in that category.

Ty recorded 3 Tackles, 1 INT, and 1 PD in the loss to Vanderbilt in the final week.

• Messiah Delhomme/ Maryland

12 Tackles against unbeaten Indiana in a game where he played nearly every defensive snap. Courage and effort were both on display in that tough loss. Also, he recorded two blocked punts in the first three games of the season.

Messiah did not record a stat in the loss to Michigan St this past weekend.

• Aaron Flowers/ Oregon

8 Tackles against unbeaten Indiana. Similar to Delhomme, he played nearly every defensive snap.

Aaron recorded 5 Tackles and one TFL in the win over the high-flying Washington offense.

• Demetres Samuel, Jr/ Syracuse

Demetres has been as consistent as the tide all season filling needs for the Orange.

He did not record a stat in the loss to Boston College.

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So, these were the finalists going into the last week of the season for the Fresh-McNelly Award. It’s been a fun wrinkle to follow, and I look forward to keeping this competition going for at least another year. Watching Defensive Backs shine is my favorite part of football and watching the youngest of those DB’s perform at a high level makes it that much more fun.

But this is about this season. Which one of these four won?

Well, there were two that I found myself deliberating between.

Messiah Delhomme and Demetres Samuel Jr had phenomenal freshman seasons, gave their all nearly every week, and show tremendous upside going into their sophomore year, but neither will win this year’s award. Well done to both young men. The future is certainly bright. Only up.

The two that I was torn between were Aaron Flowers and Ty Redmond. Let’s look at each.

• S Aaron Flowers
  • 53 Total Tackles, 2 PD, 2 FF, 1 TFL, 1 INT

Young Mr. Flowers played nearly every snap for the 8th ranked defense and 5th ranked team. He’s a true-blue hard-hitting safety that makes nearly every play that comes his way and from a physical standpoint, looks far more developed than a freshman.

It takes a lot to start on a Dan Lanning Defense and the fact that he started in some key games, shows his elite status.

• CB Ty Redmond
  • 39 Total Tackles, 10 PD, 3 INT, 1 TFL

Ty played all season for the Vols but first grabbed my attention with the courage he showed against UGA on Week 3, where he picked-off Stockton and played the entire game. He impressed again against New Mexico St finishing the game with 5 Tackles and an interception, and on the final week picked off a red-hot Diego Pavia.

Tennessee did not boast a great defense this season by any means, but Redmond was one of the bright spots all year.

So, which one deserves to win the inaugural Fresh-McNelly Award? Both, if I had to be honest. This is a tough choice. It’s like comparing Roy Williams from his days at Texas and Joe Haden from his Gator days. Both players are elite at their position, especially for their young age. I’d like to award both, but I’ll have to choose. There must be an out and out winner, and that winner is–

Aaron Flowers. Safety. Oregon.

The margins were razor thin and it came down to the fact that Flowers shone for a top 5 team and Redmond stood out on the 92nd ranked defense. The standards were high for him, and he met them each and every week.

Congrats to Aaron Flowers. His career is just beginning.

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So, which one of these four will win a McNelly Award in the future?

Each and every one has a chance. All that is required is consistent courage and hard work, and it helps to win your games. McNelly didn’t lose much, similar to Flowers this season.

For that–he’s the winner.

Congrats to all of the Fresh- McNellies this season.

Find the Humor and Keep on Movin’

Whit W.