On Thursday, the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame announced its inaugural Induction Class of 45 former players. Of those 45, 15 are former Georgia football players.
The voting began in the early spring. By mid-June, the final ballot was narrowed down to 100 names. The nine former Georgia high school football players who are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame earned automatic inductions, which included two former UGA players — Champ Bailey and Fran Tarkenton.
There were eight eras represented: Pre-1950’s, 1950’s, 1960’s, GIA, 1970’s, 1980’s, 1990’s, 2000’s.
Upon completion of the 100-person ballot, all board members were required to vote for a minimum of two players from each era and select a total of 36 players. There was only one unanimous selection and that was Georgia legend Herschel Walker, a graduate of Johnson County, who received votes from all 35 board members.
Strong character and high school accomplishments were prioritized in the voting. In order to be eligible for the Hall of Fame players have to be out of high school for at least eight years and requires that they be retired from football. That’s why former Georgia Bulldogs like Nick Chubb and Justin Fields, plus non-UGA quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Cam Newton are not included in the initial class.
Here’s a look at the 15 former Georgia Bulldogs who will be officially inducted on October 22 during a ceremony at the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta.