Charles Woodson, Frank Beamer among those up for College Football Hall of Fame
The National Football Foundation announced the players and coaches on the 2018 ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame on Thursday. The list is highlighted by ballot newcomers like Michigan great Charles Woodson, Miami stars Warren Sapp and Ed Reed and Georgia Tech wideout Calvin Johnson. Nebraska’s Eric Crouch, SMU’s Eric Dickerson and USC”s Troy Polamalu are also part of the group of 75 former players from the FBS level.
In order to be eligible for the Hall of Fame, a player had to earn first-team All-American honors at some point during his career.
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“It’s an enormous honor to just be on the ballot when you think that more than 5.19 million people have played college football and only 987 players have been inducted,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “The Hall’s requirement of being a first-team All-American creates a much smaller pool of only 1,500 individuals who are even eligible. So being in today’s elite group means an individual is truly among the greatest to ever have played the game, and we are extremely proud to announce their names. We look forward to revealing the 2018 Class prior to the CFP National Championship in Atlanta, the esteemed home of the College Football Hall of Fame.”
Additionally, longtime Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer and ex-Texas head coach Mack Brown are two of the six coaches on the ballot. The other four coaches are Jim Carlen (West Virginia, Texas Tech, South Carolina), Pete Cawthon Sr. (Austin College, Texas Tech), Billy Jack Murphy (Memphis) and Darryl Rogers (Fresno State, San Jose State, Michigan State, Arizona State).
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The 2018 class will be unveiled in Atlanta on Jan. 8, 2018, the day of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, before being officially inducted during the NFF Awards Dinner on Dec. 4, 2018.
“We cannot thank CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock and his staff enough for the opportunity to continue the tradition of announcing our Hall of Fame Class in conjunction with the National Championship,” said Hatchell. “Our presence at the title game has significantly raised the profile of the announcement, allowing us to shine a much brighter light on the accomplishments of our game’s greatest legends.”
Here is the full list of FBS players on the ballot (many remain from last year):
Morten Andersen, Michigan State – Placekicker
Mark Bavaro, Notre Dame – Tight End
Michael Bishop, Kansas State – Quarterback
Lomas Brown, Florida – Offensive Tackle
Terrell Buckley, Florida State – Defensive Back
Larry Burton, Purdue – Split End
Keith Byars, Ohio State – Running Back
Gregg Carr, Auburn – Linebacker
Mark Carrier, Southern California-Defensive Back
Matt Cavanaugh, Pittsburgh – Quarterback
Trevor Cobb, Rice – Running Back
Marco Coleman, Georgia Tech – Linebacker
Kerry Collins, Penn State – Quarterback
Tim Couch, Kentucky – Quarterback
Eric Crouch, Nebraska – Quarterback
Kenneth Davis, Texas Christian – Running Back
Rich Diana, Yale – Running Back
Eric Dickerson, Southern Methodist – Running Back
John Didion, Oregon State – Center
Rickey Dixon, Oklahoma-Defensive Back
Jumbo Elliott, Michigan – Offensive Tackle
Kevin Faulk, Louisiana State – Running Back
David Fulcher, Arizona State – Defensive Back
Robert Gallery, Iowa – Offensive Tackle
Moe Gardner, Illinois – Defensive Tackle
Tony Gonzalez, California – Tight End
Martín Gramática, Kansas State – Placekicker
Jacob Green, Texas A&M – Defensive Lineman
Dan Hampton, Arkansas – Defensive Tackle
Jason Hanson, Washington State – Placekicker
Byron Hanspard, Texas Tech – Running Back
Marcus Harris, Wyoming – Wide Receiver
Craig Heyward, Pittsburgh – Running Back
Torry Holt, North Carolina State – Wide Receiver
Dana Howard, Illinois – Linebacker
Raghib Ismail, Notre Dame – Wide Receiver
Ernie Jennings, Air Force – Wide Receiver
Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech – Wide Receiver
E.J. Junior, Alabama – Defensive End
Rick Leach, Michigan – Quarterback
Jess Lewis, Oregon State – Defensive Tackle
Ray Lewis, Miami (Fla.) – Linebacker
Ed McCaffrey, Stanford – Wide Receiver
Buddy McClinton, Auburn – Defensive Back
Cade McNown, UCLA – Quarterback
Shawn Moore, Virginia – Quarterback
Ken Norton Jr., UCLA – Linebacker
Phil Olsen, Utah State – Defensive End
Leslie O’Neal, Oklahoma State – Defensive Tackle
Jim Otis, Ohio State – Fullback
Paul Palmer, Temple – Running Back
Jake Plummer, Arizona State – Quarterback
Anthony Poindexter, Virginia – Defensive Back
Troy Polamalu, Southern California – Defensive Back
Cliff Powell, Arkansas – Linebacker
Antwaan Randle El, Indiana – Quarterback
Ed Reed, Miami (Fla.) – Defensive Back
Simeon Rice, Illinois – Linebacker
Ron Rivera, California – Linebacker
Warren Sapp, Miami (Fla.) – Defensive Tackle
Bob Stein, Minnesota – Defensive End
Matt Stinchcomb, Georgia – Offensive Tackle
Taylor Stubblefield, Purdue – Wide Receiver
Aaron Taylor, Nebraska – Center/OG
Aaron Taylor, Notre Dame – Offensive Tackle
Troy Vincent, Wisconsin – Defensive Back
Chris Ward, Ohio State – Offensive Tackle
Michael Westbrook, Colorado – Wide Receiver
Lorenzo White, Michigan State – Running Back
Zach Wiegert, Nebraska – Offensive Tackle
Patrick Willis, Mississippi – Linebacker
Steve Wisniewski, Penn State – Offensive Guard
Charles Woodson, Michigan – Defensive Back
Al Worley, Washington – Defensive Back
Marc Zeno, Tulane – Wide Receiver
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