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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rocker, Shibest Finalists for Coaching Honors
11/17/2008 | Football
OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss assistant coaches Tracy Rocker and James Shibest are among the finalists for the new Muscle Milk and FootballScoop.com Coaches of the Year awards, which are given to 14 different position coaches in college football.
Candidates were nominated by their colleagues and evaluated by a panel of former coaches, who will utilize the fan vote on www.footballscoop.com to determine the winners. Voting runs from now until Dec. 5, and the winning candidates will be announced on Dec. 7.
Finalists have been chosen for the awards from the following areas: Offensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator, Special Teams Coordinator, Strength & Conditioning Coach, Quarterbacks Coach, Running Backs Coach, Wide Receivers Coach, Offensive Line Coach, Defensive Line Coach, Linebackers Coach, Secondary Coach, Division 1-AA Coordinator, Division 2 Coordinator and Division 3 Coordinator of the Year.
Rocker's first Rebel defensive line has emerged as one of the nation's best and has helped the defense rank sixth in country in TFLs and 13th in rushing defense. Under his guidance, tackle Peria Jerry is an All-American candidate and is third in the SEC in forced fumbles and fifth in TFLs.
Also in his first year in Oxford, Shibest has directed an Ole Miss special teams unit that produced game-changing plays against Florida (blocked extra point), Alabama (fake field goal for a touchdown), Vanderbilt and Samford (TD returns). In addition, kicker Joshua Shene and kickoff returner Mike Wallace have shattered school records and rank among the SEC's best.
