JACKSON — Elgton Jenkins, a 2014 Clarksdale High School graduate and senior center for the Mississippi State football team, has been named the 2018 Entergy/Kent Hull Trophy winner signifying the top offensive lineman in Mississipi.
The 6 foot, 4 inch, 310 pound Clarksdale native was chosen by a panel of NFL scouts working the state.
“There were several good O-linemen this time but Elgton was by far and away the best this year!” according to one scout.
Jenkins got his first start back in 2015 as a red-shirt freshman at left guard blocking for quarterback Dak Prescott.
Since switching to center, Jenkins and Bulldog quarterback Nick Fitzgerald have formed a tandem that has taken MSU to three bowls and will soon add a fourth postseason appearance to the list.
This will be the sixth time the Hull Trophy has been awarded and the second time under the sponsorship of Entergy.
The award was named after the MSU and NFL great lineman Kent Hull. Previous winners have gone on to the NFL.
Jenkins will be the fourth Mississippi State player to win the trophy with two of the awards going to Ole Miss players.
The Kent Hull Foundation started this award in 2013 to highlight players that get little attention but are important to the team’s success.
The foundation raises funds for the Candlelighters of UMMC. Since Entergy signed on with the award, those contributions have increased.
“Kent spent his entire career on the offensive lune providing protection and openings for his teammates and we are proud to highlight the work of those that do the work in relative obscurity,” said Hull’s wife Kay.
The trophy was presented Tuesday during the C Spire Conerly Trophy banquet at the Country Club of Jackson.
Deuce McAllister, a former C Spire Conerly Trophy winner and current New Orleans Saints radio analyst, was the featured speaker.