Ole Miss senior defensive tackle JJ Pegues will hold one of the program’s highest honors as this year’s Chucky Mullins Courage Award winner.
The award honors the late Chucky Mullins, who had his Ole Miss career come to an end during the 1989 Homecoming game against Vanderbilt when he was paralyzed after making a tackle. After returning to his studies at Ole Miss, Mullins passed away on May 6, 1991.
Pegues is one of the Rebels’ football players who may be better known for his work off the field than his performance on the gridiron — and that’s saying something given he’s a starter in the SEC. The Oxford native is heavily active within the Oxford-Lafayette County community, continuously partaking in numerous service events. Pegues, a member of the SEC Leadership Council, the SEC Community Service Team, and the Ole Miss Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, held his own community-wide school supply giveaway last fall, which helped distribute school supplies for elementary students.
“Obviously, I’ve been brought up here, so I’ve been knowing about this award since I was five or six,” Pegues said. “I couldn’t do it without y’all boys — the coaches and staff — for all the love and support y’all have given me through my ups and downs. I really appreciate it. Y’all know I’m going to come to work every day. It’s a blessing. It’s an honor.”
Introducing your 2024 Chucky Mullins Courage Award Winner!#HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/vuEZl9QM5q
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) August 22, 2024
Other community events Pegues has been part of include:
- Annual Adopt-a-Basket program run by the Ole Miss athletics department — Donating more than 100 Thanksgiving baskets to local families.
- Annual Feed the Sip program through the Stronger Together MS initiative — Collecting and donating more than 12,000 non-perishable food items to elementary students within Tunica and Quitman counties.
- Ole Miss’ ongoing Reading with the Rebels program — Featuring student-athletes visiting local elementary schools to read to students to increase support for reading and literacy throughout the state of Mississippi.
- Local Boys and Girls Club after-school programs — Being an active participant in various activities and bringing smiles to the faces of the youth present.
- Local Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Back to School event — Helping prepare foster students for the start of the school year.
- CASA’s Adopt-a-Child program — Assisting children during the holiday season.
- CASA’s 5K Superhero Run fundraiser — Raising money to assist children who have been abused or neglected.
- The Tim Tebow Foundation’s A Night to Shine event —A community-wide prom for individuals with disabilities.
- Former Rebel KD Hill’s Back to School Bash — A fun event for local children ahead of the school year.
- Assisting in the inaugural AJ Brown Foundation event hosted by the former Rebel and current NFL great.
- Ole Miss’ water collection drive to assist residents of Jackson, Mississippi during the city’s water crisis.
He also joined fellow Rebel teammates in cleanup and donation efforts to help Mississippi communities affected by the March 2023 tornadoes that ravaged much of the state.
“[Pegues] understands the platform that he has,” Ole Miss defensive line coach Randall Joyner said in an episode of The Season. “One thing that I preach to the guys all the time is that your reality is somebody else’s dream. Part of our job is to impact and to provide hope for young individuals — and he does that.”
On the field, Pegues has become a mainstay of the Ole Miss defense, playing in all 13 games for the Rebels in 2023 while starting 12. He ended the 2023 campaign with a career-high 42 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and four pass breakups while also tacking two quarterback hurries to the stat sheet.
Formerly a tight end at the high school ranks, Pegues further cemented his role as one of college football’s more versatile linemen, moving the chains on a crucial 4th and short in Ole Miss’s Peach Bowl victory over Penn State. Additionally, in 2022, he hauled in a one-yard touchdown reception in the Egg Bowl.
Pegues is also being recognized nationally as a standout member of the community as a nominee for the 2024 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team for the second consecutive year.
Ole Miss begins the 2024 season versus Furman on August 31. Pegues plans to wear Mullins’ No. 38 jersey for home games while donning his original No. 89 jersey with a 38 patch on the road.
