The College Football Hall of Fame ballot has been released for the 2021 class. It is stocked with names that should be very familiar to football fans.
78 players and seven coaches from the FBS ranks are included. Over 12,000 National Football Foundation members and existing Hall of Famers will vote on the candidates, and submit names to the NFF’s Honors Courts, who have the job of choosing the class. Ohio State legend Archie Griffin helms that group.
The Hall of Fame class will be announced in early 2021, per the NFF release. The class will be inducted on Dec. 7, 2021 in New York.
For Hall of Fame candidacy, players must have been a First-Team All-American named by one of the NCAA’s recognized selectors, 10 years out of college, and within 50 years of finishing their college careers, or nominated by the veterans committee if they don’t meet that last requirement. Football greats like Ray Lewis, Champ Bailey, Carson Palmer, Julius Peppers, and Marvin Harrison are all on the ballot.
Announcing the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot!
Full Ballot: https://t.co/cWZ66GUxHt
Join the NFF and receive a vote: https://t.co/3nfIaLVtdt pic.twitter.com/3TlX4zvSyB
— National Football Foundation (@NFFNetwork) June 16, 2020
Here is the full player ballot, listed by school. 78 former FBS-level talents are listed for College Football Hall of Fame candidacy:
Alabama:
OT Chris Samuels
DB Antonio Langham
Arizona State:
DE Al Harris
DB David Fulcher
K Luis Zendejas
Arkansas:
OG Brandon Burlsworth
DT Dan Hampton
Auburn:
LB Gregg Carr
Boston College:
TE Pete Mitchell
Cal:
TE Tony Gonzalez
LB Ron Rivera
Clemson:
RB C.J. Spiller
DB Donnell Woolford
Colorado:
RB Eric Bieniemy
RB Rashaan Salaam
DB Chris Hudson
Florida:
DT Brad Culpepper
Florida State:
WR Barry Smith
LB Marvin Jones
K Sebastian Janikowski
Georgia:
CB Champ Bailey
Georgia Tech:
LB Lucius Sanford
Hawaii:
K Jason Elam
Illinois:
DT Moe Gardner
LB Simeon Rice
Indiana:
QB Antwaan Randle El
Iowa:
OT Robert Gallery
DL Jared DeVries
DE Andre Tippett
Kansas State:
QB Michael Bishop
RB Darren Sproles
Kentucky:
QB Tim Couch
LSU:
RB Kevin Faulk
Miami:
QB Ken Dorsey
LB Ray Lewis
LB Dan Morgan
Michigan:
OL Steve Hutchinson
DT Mark Messner
Michigan State:
OT Flozell Adams
K Morten Andersen
Nebraska:
OT Zach Wiegert
DT Larry Jacobson
NorthCarolina:
OT Harris Barton
DE Julius Peppers
Notre Dame:
LB Bob Golic
OT Aaron Taylor
Ohio State:
OT Chris Ward
LB James Laurinaitis
DB Mike Doss
Oklahoma:
QB Josh Heupel
DB Roy Williams
Oregon State:
RB Ken Simonton
WR Mike Hass
Penn State:
RB D.J. Dozier
WR Bobby Engram
OG Steve Wisniewski
Pitt:
QB Matt Cavanaugh
RB Craig Heyward
Purdue:
WR Larry Burton
WR Taylor Stubblefield
Stanford:
WR Ed McCaffrey
Syracuse:
WR Marvin Harrison
DE Dwight Freeney
Tennessee:
WR Willie Gault
LB Al Wilson
DB/P Bobby Majors
Texas:
OL Dan Neil
DT Kenneth Sims
Texas A&M:
K Tony Franklin
Texas Tech:
RB Byron Hanspard
UCLA:
LB Ken Norton Jr.
K John Lee
USC:
QB Carson Palmer
OG Jeff Bregel
LB Jack Del Rio
Virginia Tech:
DL Corey Moore
West Virginia:
DB Aaron Beasley
Wisconsin:
DB Troy Vincent
This list is joined by head coaches Larry Blakeney (Troy), Jim Carlen (WVU, Texas Tech, South Carolina), Pete Cawthon Sr. (Texas Tech), Billy Jack Murphy (Memphis), Gary Pinkel (Toledo, Missouri), Darryl Rogers (Fresno State, San Jose State, Michigan State, Arizona State), and Bob Stoops (Oklahoma). A number of lower-division stars have been nominated as well.
The full list of nominees can be found at the National Football Foundation website.