BY ROCK HOFFMAN
COLLEGE FOOTBALL EDITOR
Seventeen legendary college football players and two coaches have been selected for enshrinement into the College Football Hall of Fame from a ballot of 177 players and 38 coaches.
Andy Talley, the former Villanova University head coach, is among the men who will be honored during the National Football Foundation Awards Dinner in New York on December 8th before being inducted into the Hall in Atlanta.
Talley, who won 258 games in 37 seasons as a college coach (five years at St. Lawrence and 32 leading the Wildcats) and the 2009 NCAA Division I FCS National Championship, tweeted out simply, “Thank you for this great honor!” along with a picture of honorary football he received from the NFF.
“[This] announcement shines a light on the accomplishments of some of college football's greatest legends." said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell.
“Each of these men has established himself among the absolute best to have ever played or coached the game, and we look forward to immortalizing their incredible accomplishments." added Archie Manning, NFF Chairman and a 1989 College Football Hall of Famer from Mississippi.
To be eligible for the hall of fame, a player must have received First Team All-America recognition by a selector recognized by the NCAA and utilized to comprise its consensus All-America teams.
Coaches must have been a head football coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage.
Joining Talley as the other coach in the Class of 2020 is Dick Sheridan, who compiled a mark of 121-52-5 at Furman (1978-85) and North Carolina State (1986-92).
The players to be enshrined are:
Lomas Brown – OT, Florida (1981-84)
Keith Byars – RB, Ohio State (1982-85)
Eric Crouch – QB, Nebraska (1998-2001)
Eric Dickerson – RB, Southern Methodist (1979-82)
Glenn Dorsey – DT, LSU (2004-07)
Jumbo Elliott – OT, Michigan (1984-87)
Jason Hanson – PK, Washington State (1988-91)
E.J. Henderson – LB, Maryland (1999-2002)
E.J. Junior – DE, Alabama (1977-80)
Steve McNair – QB, Alcorn State (1991-94)
Cade McNown – QB, UCLA (1995-98)
Leslie O'Neal – DT, Oklahoma State (1982-85)
Anthony Poindexter – DB, Virginia (1995-98)
David Pollack – DE, Georgia (2001-04)
Bob Stein – DE, Minnesota (1966-68)
Michael Westbrook – WR, Colorado (1991-94)
Elmo Wright – WR, Houston (1968-70)
Email Rock Hoffman at rock@footballstories.com