Tag: Hall of Fame

Two Texas players appear on 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot

Two former Longhorns were listed on the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot.

The 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot was released on Tuesday. Continue reading “Two Texas players appear on 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot”

A former Badger cornerback is on the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame

The latest College Football Hall of Fame ballot has been released and former Badger cornerback Troy Vincent was included on the list…

The latest College Football Hall of Fame ballot has been released and former Badger cornerback Troy Vincent was included on the list.

Vincent played four stellar years for the Badgers and became one of the best cornerbacks in program history.

The New Jersey native finished his Badger career with 42 games played in four years, four interceptions, one pick-six and 90 combined kick and punt returns for a total of 1258 yards and three touchdowns.

Though this is an only-college honor, Vincent also went on to play 15 NFL seasons for four teams–most notably the Philadelphia Eagles whom he made three NFC Championships with and was a pivotal cog in the secondary.

The former Badger will try to join the 15 former Badger players or coaches currently in the Hall of Fame–namely Barry Alvarez, Ron Dayne and Joe Thomas.

Langham and Samuels both named to College Football Hall of Fame ballot

Antonio Langham and Chris Samuels were both named to the 2021 ballot for induction into the National Football Foundation & CFB HOF. 

On Tuesday, Former Alabama defensive back Antonio Langham and offensive tackle Chris Samuels were both named to the 2021 ballot for induction into the National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame.

 

The press release announced that the ballot ” included 78 players and seven coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 99 players and 33 coaches from the divisional ranks.”

“It’s an enormous honor to just be on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot considering more than 5.4 million people have played college football and only 1,027 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 about 1,500 individuals who are even eligible. Being in today’s elite group means an individual is truly among the greatest to have ever played the game, and we look forward to announcing the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class Presented by ETT early next year.”

Langham was a first team All-American in 1993 and also won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back. He also helped Alabama win the 1992 National Championship. In his career at Alabama, he recorded 19 interceptions and 3 TDs.

Also representing the Crimson Tide on the ballot is former Alabama offensive tackle Chris Samuels. Samuels became a huge part of Alabama’s success during his time in Tuscaloosa. In 1999, he was a first team All-American and also won the Outland Trophy. He also won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy which was awarded to him because he didn’t allow a single sack all single, and was a key component of Shaun Alexander’s 1000+ yards rushing.

In the history of the Hall of Fame, there are 20 players as well as 4 coaches who represent the Crimson Tide. It’s also important to note that one other former Alabama player (Frank Howard) was named to the CFB HOF for his time coaching at Clemson.

The most recent Alabama player to be named to the HOF was former defensive end E.J. Junior III who will be inducted at the end of this year.

Joining Junior in the HOF is Cornelius Bennett, Johnny Mack Brown, Johnny Cain, Harry Gilmer, John Hannah, Dixie Howell, Pooley Hubert, Don Hutson, Lee Roy Jordan, Woodrow Lowe, Marty Lyons, Vaughn Mancha, Johnny Musso, Billy Neighbors, Ozzie Newsome, Fred Sington, Riley Smith, and Don Whitmire.

The four Alabama coaches who are in the HOF as well as Paul “Bear” Bryant, Gene Stallings, Frank Thomas, and Wallace Wade.

The announcement of the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class Presented by ETT will be made in early 2021. Details to be announced at a later date.

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Three former Vols on 2021 College Football Hall of Fame ballot

2021 College Football Hall of Fame ballot.

IRVING — The National Football Foundation and the College Hall of Fame announced names on the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame ballot.

The ballot includes 78 players and seven coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 99 players and 33 coaches from the divisional ranks. The entire ballot can be viewed here.

Three former Vols are also listed on the 2021 ballot; Willie Gault, Bobby Majors and Al Wilson.

They are listed below with each NFF bio.

Willie Gault, Tennessee-Wide Receiver-1982 First Team All-American…Led Vols to three bowl berths…Set six conference and 12 school punt / kickoff return records…Tied NCAA record for most touchdowns by kick return in a single season (3) in 1980.

Bobby Majors, Tennessee-Defensive Back/Punter-1971 unanimous First Team All-American who led Vols to wins in 1971 Sugar Bowl and 1972 Liberty Bowl… Two-time First Team All-SEC selections still holds conference and school record with 10 INTs in 1971…Set Tennessee records for career punt returns (117) and career punt return yardage (1,163).

Al Wilson, Tennessee-Linebacker-1998 consensus First Team All-American who led the Vols to the inaugural BCS national title in 1998…Helped Tennessee to four postseason berths and four AP top 10 finishes…Two-time All-SEC performer led Vols to consecutive SEC titles (1997, 1998) and only lost three conference games in career.

The brother of NBA Hall of Famer …

The brother of NBA Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins is behind bars after being arrested in connection to an assault at his place of employment. Police have accused Gerald Wilkins of throwing an object at a colleague, as well as aggressively chasing the individual with a screw driver. Wilkins then left the location via his car on June 9. He is charged with simple battery, theft by taking, and aggravated assault. Wilkins was also charged for a domestic incident that occurred on June 6, in which he allegedly barricaded himself in the victim’s bedroom. Police say when they arrived, they had to break into the room, where they found Wilkins had poured accelerant and disabled the smoke alarm. He is charged with criminal trespassing and hindering law enforcement.

Watch: Remembering the late Sam Mills on his 61st birthday

Former New Orleans Saints linebacker Sam Mills, a key piece of the Dome Patrol defense, was featured in an episode of “A Football Life.”

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The New Orleans Saints are honoring the life of famed “Dome Patrol” linebacker Sam Mills, who rose to prominence while teaming up with Pat Swilling, Vaughan Johnson, and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Rickey Jackson to form one of the NFL’s greatest defenses. They combined for 18 Pro Bowl appearances from 1986 to 1992, making NFL history by sending all four linebackers to the 1992 all-star game.

Mills died in 2005; Wednesday, June 3rd, would have been his 61st birthday. He joined the expansion-team Carolina Panthers after a prolific career with the Saints, coining the NFC South-rival’s motto of “Keep Pounding” and earning a bronze statue in his remembrance outside their home stadium in Charlotte.

To celebrate the occasion, the Saints shared a video highlighting Mills’ legacy in New Orleans from their official Twitter account — you can see it where we’ve embedded it above. It’s sampled from an episode centering on Mills from “A Football Life;” the full video can be found here, though it requires an NFL Game Pass subscription. Fortunately, a free trial is currently available through July.

Mills and his teammates set the standard for the Saints for decades to come, and it’s great to see that he’s still remembered and respected so well. Hopefully the Hall of Fame voters will one day agree that he’s deserving of a bust in Canton not too far from Jackson’s. Or maybe the Saints could get their own memorial up in front of the Superdome someday immortalizing all four members of the Dome Patrol.

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Future Hall of Famers from Super Bowl LIV: Making the case for Chiefs OT Mitchell Schwartz

Plenty of big-name players have a good case or have gotten a good jumpstart on a future HOF bid. Mitchell Schwartz should be one of them.

There are plenty of big-name players from the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory that now have a jump start on an eventual Hall of Fame bid.  There are others that seem to have a clear road to Canton, but perhaps one of the most deserving isn’t being talked about enough. No. 71 has been the best offensive lineman on the Chiefs over the past four seasons. There’s little doubt that RT Mitchell Schwartz is one of the most underrated in all of the NFL.

Schwartz joined the Chiefs in 2016 after spending his first four years with the Cleveland Browns, who drafted him in the second round back in 2012. He has started every single game he has played for eight straight years for a total of 128 regular-season games. Up until November of 2019, he had not missed a single snap of his career. Even when he was forced to come out of a game for the first time ever this past season, he only missed three snaps.

The Chiefs have been known for their running game and offensive line play dating back to the 1990s when Marty Schottenheimer was the head coach. That tradition continued under Dick Vermeil and even though the team’s consistency fell off after Vermeil exited, the Chiefs still boasted some impressive linemen. Still, from 2011 to 2016, the Chiefs had a different starting right tackle each season. Schwartz’s arrival game the offensive line stability at the right tackle spot for the first time in years.

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Schwartz has been selected as an AP Second-Team All-Pro in 2016, 2017, and 2019. So far his only AP First-Team recognition came in 2018. In 2019, he earned a Super Bowl ring, while allowing just a single pressure in 140 postseason pass-blocking snaps according to PFF. Schwartz has gained more and more respect and recognition every single year he has been in the league.

Prior to the 2019 season, Schwartz signed a one-year extension that makes him a Chief through 2021. He turns 31 on June 8th and even though his best football might be behind him, he is still one of the premier right tackles in the game today. Until we see the play fall off, there is no reason to expect anything less than All-Pro play from Schwartz.

Schwartz played his college ball at Cal and since being drafted in 2012, he has made four straight All-Pro teams, started 128 regular-season games in a row, and now has a Super Bowl ring. We all know how talented the Chiefs are and with a number of additional accolades coming his way, Schwartz should and very well could be getting a bust in Canton, Ohio.

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Twitter shares support for Floyd Little after cancer diagnosis

Sports fans took to Twitter to tweet support for former Broncos running back Floyd Little.

Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Floyd Little has been diagnosed with a “treatable but aggressive form of cancer,” former college football teammate Pat Killorin told Nate Mink of Syracuse.com.

Killorin started a GoFundMe page to help pay for Little’s medical expenses. As of Sunday morning, the page has raised almost $13,000.

“Floyd has a wide community of support who expressed the desire to support him in prayer and in the expense of his cancer treatment,” Killorin wrote on the GoFundMe page. “So we created this Friends of Floyd (‘FOF’) Page with the permission of the Little Family to receive words of encouragement and to solicit funds to offset the financial burden this journey will take on Floyd and his family. We believe the last thing we want our friend Floyd to do is to worry about this expense or to give up in order to avoid it.”

Broncos fans, Syracuse alumni, media members and coaches shared messages of support for Little on Twitter.

Little, 77, was a three-time first-team All-American at Syracuse before going on to earn five Pro Bowl selections with the Broncos in the NFL. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Denver and Syracuse both retired his No. 44 jersey.

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Webber said he doesn’t worry about the …

Webber said he doesn’t worry about the Hall of Fame, and Rose agrees. “Webb shouldn’t spend a second worrying about that — it’s going to happen,” Rose said. “And also, it’s well deserved. And it’s the basketball Hall of Fame, so he’ll get in. He should get in solely on his impact with the Fab Five because the Fab Five should be in. If you just took his high school and his pro (career), he should be in.”

“No. 1, the NCAA doesn’t own (the) Fab …

“No. 1, the NCAA doesn’t own (the) Fab Five — Isiah Thomas taught me this,” Rose said. “The same way the NBA doesn’t own (Detroit’s) Bad Boys, so if that was like ‘March Madness’ or ‘One Shining Moment,’ something that they owned, that’s something they would acknowledge and give love to. When you see highlights of teams going in and out of the commercials, they show teams that didn’t win the championship, so they could show us if they really wanted to. So that has to be a conscious decision, and that’s fine. It’ll happen, and it’s just like him going to the Hall of Fame; I believe it will happen.”