JACKSON - Delta State University junior running back/wide receiver Trevar Deed enjoyed a remarkable season in 2009 and Monday night the Phoenix, Ariz., native sat among the state of Mississippi's top football student-athletes as a finalist for the CellularSouth Conerly Award.  While Mississippi State's Anothy Dixon, the leading rushed in the Southeastern Conference, took top honors, Deed made a name for himself among the state's elite. 

As Dixon's name was announced Monday evening at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, DSU's Deed certainly deserved to share in the spotlight.  The multidimensional speedster, who received 2008 All-American accolades and back-to-back First Team All-GSC honors, racked up his best season as a Statesmen despite playing in less games.  In a season marked with ups and downs, Deed rarely missed a beat, rushing for 931 yards and 10 touchdowns, while hauling in 67 passes for 805 yards and five touchdowns. 

Numbers don't lie and Deed's production over the past two seasons has been simply phenomenal.  In 22 games as a Statesmen, Deed has amassed 3,722 all-purpose yards and scored an amazing 30 touchdowns.  His 145 career receptions rank fourth all-time at DSU and his 180 career points are tied for third all-time in school history. 

In 2009, Deed led the Gulf South Conference in scoring with 15 touchdowns and 9.0 points per game, ranked second in rush yards per game (93.1), fifth in receiving yards per game (80.5) and receptions (6.7) and second in all-purpose yards (194.7). 

Among the NCAA's elite, Deed finished fourth in the nation in all-purpose yardage, 19th in scoring, 16th in receptions, 32nd in rushing and 31st in receiving yards. 

Deed will enter the 2010 season needing 100 receptions to break Robert Davis' (245/2003-2006) school record and 12 touchdowns to become the school's career leader in scoring, currently held by former All-American running back Rico McDonald (252/1999-2001).    

The CellularSouth Conerly Trophy is awarded annually to the state of Mississippi's top collegiate football player and named after the late Charlie Conerly who is the only football inductee in the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame who combines all of the following accomplishments: native Mississippian who was an All-American at a Mississippi university; NFL rookie of the year; NFL All-Pro who quarterbacked a team to a world championship.

The award's first recipient was Delta State University tailback Tregnel Thomas in 1996.  Thomas, a Pascagoula native, rushed for a then-school record 1,604 yards and 11 touchdowns.

In 2000, junior quarterback Josh Bright claimed the prestigious honor after directing the Statesmen to the NCAA Division II National Championship by rushing for 1,495 yards and 21 touchdowns and passing for 1,428 yards and 14 touchdowns. 

From 2003-2006, Delta State's Scott Eyster, the second ranked passer in NCAA Division II history with 13,889 yards and 116 touchdown passes, served as a finalist for the Conerly Trophy, but never claimed the honor.