Ole Miss linebacker Tyler Banks will be the next Rebel to have the honor of donning the No. 38 jersey in remembrance of Chucky Mullins.
Banks, a senior from Virginia, was named the winner of the 2025 Chucky Mullins Courage Award, as announced by head coach Lane Kiffin on Thursday. The three-year Ole Miss letterwinner becomes the 35th recipient in the 36-year history of the award. Banks plans to wear the No. 38 jersey throughout the 2025 season and will carry the torch handed to him by former Rebel defensive tackle JJ Pegues, who won the award last year.
The award, sponsored by Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, honors the late Mullins, who had his Ole Miss career come to an end during the 1989 Homecoming game against Vanderbilt when he was paralyzed after tackling Commodore tight end Brad Gaines. After returning to his studies at Ole Miss, Mullins passed away on May 6, 1991.
“This guy shows up every day for his teammates — on the field, and he’s even proven it lately off the field, to show up for people. I think it’s a tremendous story for him just being here and fighting through adversity, and everything not going exactly the way maybe he wanted it to when he came out of high school, which is what’s going to happen the rest of your life,” Kiffin said of Banks.
“It’s not going to go the way you want it to. And all this guy does is continue to show up, continue to battle, continue to improve his place, play whatever role it is, whatever field it is, whatever special teams it is, and I couldn’t think of a better guy to win this than Tyler Banks.”
2025 Chucky Mullins Courage Award Winner, Tyler Banks 🫡#HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/FCAuDfSx7C
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) August 8, 2025
Banks has appeared in all 39 games for the Rebels since arriving in Oxford in 2022 as a true freshman. He has most notably served as a crucial piece of the Ole Miss special teams unit, tallying 31 total tackles in his career, including a personal-best 14 tackles last season. Banks also represents the Rebels as a member of the SEC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
The award is presented annually to an Ole Miss upperclassman defensive player who embodies the courage, leadership, perseverance, and determination of Mullins.
“I’m just showing up, doing what I was told to do, and what I’m coached to do each and every day,” Banks told his teammates. “I’m going to just continue to do that for you guys each and every day because I know that’s what I want from y’all, and that’s what y’all want from me, so I’m going to keep showing up and doing all I can to represent this number the best way I can.”
