Tag: Bryant Young

49ers DL Bryant Young named to Pro Football Hall of Fame

Bryant Young is finally a Hall of Famer! #49ers

Bryant Young is a Hall of Famer.

Young was named to the 2022 Hall of Fame class during the NFL Honors ceremony on Thursday evening.

Young was the 49ers’ first-round pick in 1994 and immediately had an impact for the eventual Super Bowl champions with 6.0 sacks during his rookie season. He finished third in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting.

That was just the start of a remarkable career that spanned 14 seasons and 208 games. He started every one of those 208 games for the 49ers and racked up 627 tackles, 89.5 sacks, 20 pass breakups, 12 forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries. Young was a Super Bowl champion, four-time Pro Bowler, and a First-Team All-Pro in 1996. He was thrice a Second-Team All-Pro.

A bad broken leg cut his season to just 12 games in 1998, but he battled back to play all 16 games in a terrific 1999 campaign that earned him the Comeback Player of the Year award. He put up 11.0 sacks and 19 tackles for loss that year.

49ers ownership released a statement following Thursday’s announcement:

Congratulations to Bryant Young for receiving the ultimate honor of being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. B.Y.’s tenacity, dedication and leadership throughout his illustrious 14-year career earned him respect from his teammates and the 49ers Faithful alike, helping him garner numerous career accolades highlighted by a Super Bowl championship. While he inspired us all through his courageous play, his legacy derives from the integrity, class and character he exemplified to all of us at the 49ers and in the community. B.Y. and his wife, Kristin, will forever be family and we’re beyond excited as this next step of his football journey lands in Canton.

Young will go in alongside Tony Boselli, Cliff Branch, Leroy Butler, Art McNally, Sam Mills, Richard Seymour and Dick Vermeil. His fellow 49er Patrick Willis was not a member of the ’22 class and will have to wait another year.

Sam Mills, LeRoy Butler, Richard Seymour, Cliff Branch, Tony Boselli among 2022 Hall of Fame inductees

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has announced its Class of 2022, with eight new members to be inducted in Canton.

On Thursday night, during the NFL Honors awards show, we found out which players, coaches, and executives would be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the 2022 class.

Tony Boselli, LeRoy Butler, Art McNally, Richard Seymour, Dick Vermeil, and  Bryant Young learned of their election when a Hall of Famer knocked on their door in late January. Those encounters can be seen Saturday when NFL Network airs a one-hour special, beginning at 9 p.m. ET. The families of the late Cliff Branch and Sam Mills received the news in a phone call from Hall of Fame President Jim Porter.

“Each member of this great class represents the values of the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Porter said. “We look forward to honoring them in August.”

The annual selection meeting capped a year-round selection process. The newly elected Hall of Famers were chosen from a list of 18 Finalists who had been determined earlier by the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee. Representatives of the accounting firm EY tabulated all votes during the virtual meeting.

The Coach, Contributor and Senior Finalists were voted “yes” or “no” for election at the annual selection meeting and needed at least 80% support from the Committee to be elected. The Modern-Era Finalists were trimmed during the meeting from 15 to 10, then from 10 to five. They, too, had to receive the same 80% positive vote as the Coach, Contributor and Senior Finalists when they were voted “yes” or “no” to earn election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame’s membership, including the newly elected Class of 2022, now stands at 362.

The Class of 2022 will be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, Aug. 6 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.

(Bios courtesy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame)

Notre Dame great among 15 Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists

Will this be the year for a Notre Dame and 49ers legend?

Bryant Young was a force on the 1993 Notre Dame team that nearly won a national championship and carried on immediately in the NFL as he was a rookie with the San Francisco 49ers when they won their last Super Bowl in January of 1995.

Young finished his NFL career with 89.5 career sacks, the second most in 49ers history.  He was also voted to four Pro Bowls and was named the 1999 NFL Comeback Player of the Year after suffering a nasty knee injury the year before.

Now Young is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the second time.  Joining him on the list of finalists is another 49ers legend in linebacker Patrick Willis.

The official modern-era 2022 Pro Football Hall of Fame class will be revealed on Thursday, Feb. 10.

Notre Dame currently has 13 former players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame which ties it with USC for the most ever by one college.

Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists: 2 49ers in 2022 class

Two of the 15 finalists for the 2022 Pro Football Hall of Fame class are #49ers legends.

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The 49ers have a chance to be well-represented at the Class of 2022 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. Two 49ers legends, Bryant Young and Patrick Willis were among the 15 finalists to be inducted in next year’s class.

For Young this is his 10th year of eligibility and the second time he’s reached this stage of the selection process. He was a finalist in 2020 as well but fell short of getting his gold jacket.

Young garnered all of his Hall of Fame credentials in a 49ers uniform after they selected him No. 7 overall in the 1994 draft. Across 14 seasons Young posted 89.5 sacks and 93 tackles for loss. He was a four-time Pro Bowler, a First-Team All-Pro selection once, a Super Bowl champion and a member of the Hall of Fame’s All-1990s team.

For Willis this is his third year of eligibility and the first time he’s been named a finalist.

His relatively short eight-year career is the only thing keeping him from Canton at this point. In those eight seasons he was the 2007 Defensive Rookie of the Year, a seven-time Pro Bowler and a five-time First-Team All-Pro. Willis led the NFL in tackles twice, had 100-plus tackles in six of his eight seasons, notched eight interceptions and 53 pass breakups, and forced 16 fumbles while racking up 20.5 sacks.

There was nothing Willis couldn’t do as the cornerstone of a dominant 49ers defense that helped define the early 2010s. For his contributions Willis was named to the Hall of Fame’s All-2010s team.

For both Young and Willis, a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame feels more a matter of ‘when’ than ‘if.’

Here’s a list of the 15 finalists for the 2022 class:

Jared Allen
Willie Anderson
Ronde Barber
Tony Boselli
LeRoy Butler
Devin Hester
Torry Holt
Andre Johnson
Sam Mills
Richard Seymour
Zach Thomas
DeMarcus Ware
Reggie Wayne
Patrick Willis
Bryant Young

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2022 will be revealed on Feb. 10.

ESPN’s McShay projects one Notre Dame star selected in 1st Round

There was one rising Irish star that is projected by ESPN’s Todd McShay to be selected early in next year’s NFL Draft.

We know that there is considerable hype for Irish defender Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah coming into the 2020 season. You can add ESPN’s Todd McShay as a fan of JOK’s work last year and what his future could be at the next level.

McShay mocked JOK to the Atlanta Falcons with the 13th overall pick (insider article) and if McShay is correct, Owusu-Koramoah would be the highest Irish defender drafted since Bryant Young was selected 7th overall all the way back in 1994. McShay believes that the Falcon’s need more linebacker depth and JOK would help them immensely.

The review of Owusu-Koramoah is very favorable as he “is instinctive and fast, with strong recognition skills. He’s all over the field and has the chance to be an every-down impact player,” said McShay. This is all on the heels of JOK’s breakout junior campaign where he tied for the team lead in tackles and had 5.5 sacks. As long as JOK continues his upward trajectory, he should be selected very early in next year’s NFL Draft.

49ers DL Bryant Young a finalist for Pro Football Hall of Fame, Patrick Willis snubbed

Both Bryant Young and Patrick Willis deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.

The 49ers had two legendary defensive players among the NFL’s semifinalists for the 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, but only one made the cut down to 15 finalists. Defensive lineman Bryant Young is a finalist for the first time, while linebacker Patrick Willis did not make it in his first year of eligibility.

Young was a dominant defensive tackle for the 49ers from 1994 to 2007. Across his 14 seasons, he earned four trips to the Pro Bowl, an All-Pro nod, a Comeback Player of the Year award, and won a Super Bowl during his rookie season.

He started all 208 games he played in San Francisco, and finished his career with 89.5 sacks, including two seasons with 11.0 or more. Game-changing defensive tackles are hard to come by in the NFL, and Bryant certainly was one from the time he stepped on the field as the No. 7 overall pick out of Notre Dame in 1994, and his production never really slowed. Even in his final season as a 35-year-old on a bad 49ers team he posted 6.5 sacks.

Here is the full list of 15 Modern-Era finalists:

S Steve Atwater
OT Tony Boselli
WR Isaac Bruce
S LeRoy Butler
OL Alan Faneca
WR Torry Holt
OL Steve Hutchinson
RB Edgerrin James
FS John Lynch
LB Sam Mills
S Troy Polamalu
DL Richard Seymour
LB Zach Thomas
WR Reggie Wayne
DL Bryant Young

One glaring omission from the list of finalists is former 49ers LB Patrick Willis.

Willis’ Hall of Fame case is pretty rock solid despite his relatively short career. He spent just eight years in the league, but he was undeniably dominant for all eight of those years. He was a seven-time Pro Bowler, five-time All-Pro, and a key cog in one of the most dominant defenses of the 2010s.

On the other hand, it was only his first year of eligibility, and getting into the Hall of Fame is exceptionally difficult. Several of the finalists, including 49ers GM and former safety John Lynch, are extremely worthy, but forced to wait several years before finally getting in. Willis, due to his lack of longevity, may wind up having to wait.

Both Young and Willis should be inducted into Canton by the time all the dust settles on their illustrious careers. It won’t be this year for Willis, but Young could certainly take his well deserved spot among the league’s all-time greats.

Ranking the 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists

Touchdown Wire ranks the 15 modern-era finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced 15 finalists for the Class of 2020 on Thursday night. All of them are worthy, but only five will make it this year.

I’ve been in the room as an alternate voter three times and it’s a fascinating process. The voters take their responsibility very seriously, as they should. They want it to be the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Very Good.

As a veteran writer explained to me the first time I was in the room, anyone that made the finalist list deserved to get in – at some point. But only the best are to get in during a given year. The rest should wait until the right time and their time will come.

That veteran also told me to keep one question in mind when voting – could the history of the game be written without a player. It was all great advice and I always tried to keep those parameters in mind.

I’m not voting this year, but I’ll still keep that advice in mind as I rank this year’s finalists from No. 15 to No. 1. Here we go.

15. Richard Seymour, DL – 2001-08 New England Patriots, 2009-2012 Oakland Raiders

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports Copyright

Seymour split his career between defensive end and tackle. That works against him. His 57.5 career sacks aren’t nearly enough for the Hall of Fame.

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