Chucky Mullins

Roy Lee "Chucky" Mullins (July 8, 1969 – May 6, 1991) was an American college football cornerback who played for the Ole Miss Rebels. His career was ended by a football injury that left him a quadriplegic.

Accident and aftermath Mullins was injured on October 28, 1989, during the Ole Miss Rebels homecoming game against the Vanderbilt Commodores. He plunged head-first into a tackle of Vanderbilt fullback Brad Gaines after a short pass attempt. The impact shattered four vertebrae in the cervical spine of Mullins, immediately paralyzing him.

After being airlifted to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, Mullins underwent a tracheotomy and five-hour bone graft operation to fuse the vertebrae. Mullins never regained sensation below his neck. After months of intensive physical therapy, however, he was eventually able to move a hand across his body and touch his chest.

Mullins became the recipient of donations of money towards his medical expenses. Ole Miss established the "Chucky Mullins Trust Fund" to properly manage the donations. The city of Oxford donated land for a specially designed, handicap-accessible house for Mullins. Donations to the trust fund eventually exceeded $1 million. President George H. W. Bush visited Mullins in his hospital room and encouraged him while on a visit to Memphis.

Mullins returned to Ole Miss on June 20, 1990, to complete his undergraduate studies.

Death Less than a year after returning to school, Mullins was stricken by a pulmonary embolism, which are blood clots formed by inactivity and poor circulation. He died in the hospital on May 6, 1991, and was buried in his home town of Russellville, Alabama.

Memorials and honors On September 26, 2014, Coliseum Drive on the Ole Miss campus was renamed as Chucky Mullins Drive.

During Mullins' time in the hospital, he and Brad Gaines, who did not know each other before the accident, became friends. Since the death of Mullins, Gaines visits and maintains his friend's gravesite three times a year: May 6 (the anniversary of the death of Mullins), October 28 (the anniversary of the injury) and December 25 (Christmas Day).

The impact of the accident on Gaines, and the injury to Mullins, is the subject of a SEC storied documentary "It's Time", which first aired in September 2014 on the SEC Network.

Each spring, during the annual Grove Bowl—a game at the end of spring practices pitting Ole Miss players against each other—the player who most embodies the spirit and courage of Mullins, receives the "Chucky Mullins Memorial Courage Award". With the award, the player received the right to wear jersey number 38, the same number Mullins wore. Chucky's number 38 was retired on September 3, 2006, in a pregame ceremony before the Rebels victory over the Memphis Tigers. From 2006 until 2009, the winner of the award wore a patch in honor of this award. However, the retiring of Chucky's jersey #38 proved to be an unpopular move. Thus, after changes to the award (i.e. any defensive player is eligible, no longer just a rising senior defensive player), the number was returned to circulation in 2010 to be worn by the award winner for that season. Beginning with the 2021 season, award recipients are given the option of wearing a jersey with #38 or retaining their original jersey number with a "38" patch on it.

Winners of the Chucky Mullins Courage Award

1990 – Chris Mitchell 1991 – Jeff Carter 1992 – Trea Southerland 1993 – Johnny Dixon 1994 – Alundis Brice 1995 – Michael Lowery 1996 – Derek Jones 1997 – Nate Wayne 1998 – Gary Thigpen 1999 – Ronnie Heard 2000 – Anthony Magee 2001 – Kevin Thomas 2002 – Lanier Goethie 2003 – Jamil Northcutt 2004 – Eric Oliver 2005 – Kelvin Robinson 2006 – Patrick Willis 2007 – Jeremy Garrett 2008 – Jamarca Sanford 2009 – Marcus Tillman 2010 – Kentrell Lockett 2011 – D. T. Shackelford 2012 – Jason Jones 2013 – Mike Marry 2014 – Detarrian (D.T.) Shackleford (2nd award) 2015 – Mike Hilton 2016 – John Youngblood 2017 – Marquis Haynes 2018 – CJ Moore 2019 – Austrian Robinson 2020 – Jaylon Jones 2021 – Keidron Smith 2022 – KD Hill 2023 – Cedric Johnson 2024 – JJ Pegues 2025 – Tyler Banks 2026 - Suntarine Perkins

Mullins's story was memorialized in a documentary film, Undefeated: The Chucky Mullins Story and also the SEC Storied Documentary film, "It's Time".

Further information Former Auburn Tigers defensive back Zach Gilbert, who is a cousin of Mullins, wore number 38 in his honor. Former Rebels and San Francisco 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis was the first recipient of the Chucky Mullins Award after the number was retired. A book was written by author Larry Woody about the incident: Dixie Farewell: The Life and Death of Chucky Mullins (1994) Eggman Publishing Rev. Jody Hill, a former Ole Miss teammate of Mullins, also wrote a book: 38: The Chucky Mullins Effect (Deeds Publishing (August 12, 2014), ).