The only thing surprising about Nick Saban’s inclusion in the College Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 was the timing of the news.
Candidates who waited decades for enshrinement are not unusual on the College Football Hall of Fame’s roster. But in his first appearance on the ballot, Saban seemed as sure a thing as there could be for enshrinement, and the former LSU and Alabama coach didn’t have to wait even until Wednesday to get the news.
The College Football Hall of Fame had announced last week the newest set of inductees will be revealed on Wednesday afternoon. But Saban’s on-air teammates on ESPN’s “College GameDay” informed him of the honor during their Friday night telecast.
Saban is among four coaches who will be enshrined along with 18 players in the Class of 2025. The ballot included 15 former SEC players and three former SEC coaches. Are there any more sure-things among the SEC candidates this year?
Yes, but sometimes even sure-things have to wait for enshrinement.
Former Alabama running back Mark Ingram and former Florida coach Urban Meyer also were on the ballot for the Class of 2025, and based on players and coaches who share their credentials, both are going to be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. But that doesn’t mean they’ll be among the names revealed as the newest Hall of Famers on Wednesday.
The addition of Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch and Alabama cornerback Antonio Langham with the Class of 2024 brought to 104 the number of Hall of Famers who played in the SEC. The conference also has had 30 of its coaches reach the College Football Hall of Fame, including Saban.
Based on the current criteria to be considered for the College Hall of Fame, the SEC has built up a candidates list that includes 473 former players (although not all are in the current eligibility window). Clearly, not all the qualifying players are going to make it – or even reach the ballot. The same goes for the conference’s eligible coaches.
But the players and coaches who are in the College Football Hall of Fame provide insight into which of the SEC’s luminaries are going to be enshrined in the classes to come. There will be many, but here are 10 candidates whose qualifications stamp them as sure-fire selections at some point:
Will Anderson Jr., linebacker, Alabama 2020-2022
Anderson isn’t eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame yet. He isn’t 10 seasons removed from his final college game, and he’s still an active NFL player. But when he becomes eligible, Anderson will do so as a two-time unanimous All-American. There have been 39 of those, plus the only three-time unanimous All-American – Georgia running back Herschel Walker. Walker is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame as are the SEC’s other two two-time unanimous All-Americans – Tennessee safety Eric Berry and LSU running back Billy Cannon. Of the 34 other two-time unanimous All-Americans who are eligible, 33 have been enshrined, with Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon going in with the Class of 2024. The exception is Michigan defensive back Tripp Welborne.
Joe Burrow, quarterback, LSU 2018-2019
After three seasons at Ohio State, Burrow came to LSU and, in 2019, led the Tigers to the CFP national championship as he won the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and the Walter Camp Award. The first 17 players to win those three awards in the same season are in the College Football Hall of Fame. This also serves as a harbinger of enshrinement for Auburn quarterback Cam Newton and Alabama running back Derrick Henry and wide receiver DeVonta Smith as it did for Georgia running back Herschel Walker and Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel on their way to the College Football Hall of Fame.
Grant Delpit, safety, LSU 2017-2019
Delpit was a two-time consensus All-American. That seems a pretty solid credential for College Football Hall of Fame consideration, but it hasn’t proven to be a slam-dunk for enshrinement. The SEC has had 29 players who have been consensus All-Americans at least twice. Twenty-five are eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame, but eight haven’t made it. Delpit’s advantage is his position. Of the 10 SEC offensive and defensive backs who have been two-time consensus All-Americans and are eligible, all are in the College Football Hall of Fame. At the other positions, the entrance rate is 7-of-15. That bodes well for Delpit and Alabama safety Minkah Fitzpatrick when they become eligible.
Mark Ingram, running back, Alabama 2008-2010
You can look at Ingram’s credentials as the Heisman Trophy winner for the 2009 BCS national-championship team and mark him as a future inductee for the College Football Hall of Fame. But here’s a practical reason: The player who finished as the runner-up to Ingram for the 2009 Heisman Trophy, Stanford running back Toby Gerhart, was a member of the College Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.
Eli Manning, quarterback, Ole Miss 2000-2003
Manning won the Maxwell Award in 2003, when he finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Oklahoma quarterback Jason White and Pitt wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Of the first 25 players who received the Maxwell but didn’t win the Heisman, 23 are in the College Football Hall of Fame. The exceptions are Temple QB Steve Joachim in 1974 and Penn State QB Chuck Fusina in 1978. Manning might have to wait in line, though, as the College Football Hall of Fame catches up with this century. The 2000 through 2002 Maxwell winners – Purdue QB Drew Brees, Miami (Fla.) QB Ken Dorsey and Penn State RB Larry Johnson – weren’t Heisman winners and aren’t in the College Football Hall of Fame yet. Alabama quarterbacks AJ McCarron and Tua Tagovailoa also were Maxwell winners, with both finishing as Heisman runners-up.
Johnny Manziel, quarterback, Texas A&M 2012-2013
The College Football Hall of Fame eligibility rules say: “While each nominee’s football achievements in college are of prime consideration, his post-football record as a citizen is also weighed. He must have proven himself worthy as a citizen, carrying the ideals of football forward into his relations with his community and his fellow man. Consideration may also be given for academic honors and whether or not the candidate earned a college degree.” Is that going to make a difference for Johnny Football? No, because he won the Heisman Trophy. Every Heisman Trophy winner from 1935 through 2002 has been enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame, and three players from beyond that block already are in – 2004 winner Matt Leinart, 2005 winner Reggie Bush and 2007 winner Tim Tebow. And Manziel didn’t have to give back his Heisman, so he can wait to hear his name called along with Mark Ingram, Cam Newton, Derrick Henry, Joe Burrow, DeVonta Smith, Bryce Young and Jayden Daniels, the SEC’s other unenshrined Heisman winners.
Urban Meyer, coach, Florida 2005-2010
Fifteen SEC coaches have won national championships (either awarded by The Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association, National Football Foundation or Football Writers Association of America or captured on the field in the playoff era). Nine are in the College Football Hall of Fame, including Nick Saban in the Class of 2025. Paul Dietzel, Gene Chizik and Ed Orgeron do not have career records that meet the .600 minimum winning percentage and are not eligible. Georgia’s Kirby Smart has not coached long enough to be considered. That leaves Florida’s Urban Meyer and LSU’s Les Miles unaccounted for among the SEC’s 15 national-championship coaches. Meyer made his first appearance on the ballot this year. He won two BCS national championships in six seasons at Florida and a CFP national title at Ohio State and owns a career record of 187-32 (65-15 at Florida) – an .854 winning percentage. Miles’ candidacy carries a big asterisk. Miles’ LSU teams won BCS national championships in 2007 and 2011, and he has a career record of 145-73 – a .665 winning percentage. But his official record, reflecting NCAA sanctions, is 108-73 – a .597 winning percentage that’s just below the threshold for consideration.
Cam Newton, quarterback, Florida 2007-2008, Auburn 2010
Newton has the Heisman-Maxwell-Camp ticket into the College Football Hall of Fame. But will the Auburn QB really be inducted based on one season as a college starter? The College Football Hall of Fame is loaded with players who ignited in their final season, and few of them had a season as good as Newton did for the 2010 undefeated BCS national-championship team, when he broke the SEC single-season record for yards of total offense. Newton broke the total-offense record set by Florida’s Tim Tebow in 2007, when he broke the record set by Kentucky’s Tim Couch in 1998, when he broke the record set by Tennessee’ Peyton Manning in 1997, when he broke the record set by Florida’s Danny Wuerffel in 1996. Wuerffel, Manning, Couch and Tebow are already in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Patrick Peterson, cornerback, LSU 2008-2010
Does having an NFL career worthy of Pro Football Hall of Fame consideration help a College Football Hall of Fame candidate? It doesn’t seem to hurt, as illustrated by the rapidity of Peyton Manning’s College Football Hall of Fame enshrinement after he retired from the NFL. There are 31 former SEC players enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for their NFL careers. Sixteen of those players meet the first-team All-American eligibility requirement for the College Football Hall of Fame, and only two of those 16 haven’t reached the College Football Hall of Fame, too. Georgia defensive lineman Richard Seymour and LSU fullback Jim Taylor are the only members of the SEC’s Pro Football Hall of Fame representation who are eligible for the College Football of Fame but aren’t in – and Seymour was on the Class of 2025 ballot and might get the nod on Wednesday. In his 13 NFL seasons, Peterson was a Pro Bowler eight times and first-team All-Pro three times, and his countdown to the Pro Football Hall of Fame started in 2024, his first season out of the NFL. It also makes him eligible for consideration for the College Football Hall of Fame now. Texas A&M wide receiver Mike Evans and pass-rusher Myles Garrett are other current pros worthy of the NFL effect. On the flip side, could Alabama running back Trent Richardson’s College Football Hall of Fame candidacy be adversely affected by perceptions about his NFL career?
Kirby Smart, coach, Georgia 2016-2024
Smart is still one season away from meeting an eligibility requirement for the College Football Hall of Fame. Coaches are required to have a minimum of 10 seasons. They also need at least 100 games and a .600 winning percentage, which seems a lower bar than players are required to clear. Maybe that’s why the SEC had eight coaches who would go on to the College Football Hall of Fame on the sidelines in the 1946 through 1948 seasons and seven in eight other seasons. Georgia would have to lose its next 52 games for Smart to fall below the .600 winning-percentage standard. Smart also has two CFP national championships as pass cards for admission to the College Football Hall of Fame. But when Georgia defeated Texas 22-19 in overtime in this season’s SEC Championship Game, Smart had his third conference crown. Eleven coaches before him had won three SEC championships, and all are in the College Football Hall of Fame (although Tennessee’s Johnny Majors enshrinement came as a player, not as a coach).
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