2014 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot Released: Latest Details and Reaction

The 2014 College Football Hall of Fame ballot was announced Thursday, and there are a handful of legendary names on the list.    

According to a press release from the National Football Foundation, the organization has disseminated a 75-player, six-coach Football Bowl Subdivision ballot and an 87-player, 26-coach ballot from the divisional ranks.

Stars like Brian Bosworth, Derrick Thomas, Tim Couch, Eric Crouch, Eric Dickerson, Keyshawn Johnson, Ray Lewis, Cade McNown, Simeon Rice, Warren Sapp, Sterling Sharpe, LaDainian Tomlinson, Ricky Williams and many more are all vying to be enshrined with the Class of 2014.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

It’s going to be tough for the 12,000 NFF members and current Hall members that make up the voting body to narrow down their choices. It will be even harder for the NFF Honors Court to make the final decision on who makes the cut.

There are simply so many worthy players on the ballot that some elite players are inevitably going to be snubbed. However, NFF President and CEO Steven J. Hatchell explained why even being listed on the ballot is a great achievement, via the press release:

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It’s an enormous honor to just be on the ballot when you think that more than 4.99 million people have played college football. The Hall’s requirement of being a First-Team All-American creates a much smaller pool of only 1,500 individuals who are even eligible to be on the ballot, so being in today’s elite group means an individual is truly among the greatest to ever have played the game.

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With a facility opening in Atlanta later this year, the crop of talent to be enshrined in the shiny new building may be one of the best ever.

Let’s take a look at the every FBS player and coach on the ballot, highlight the complete eligibility requirements and point out what folks around the web are saying about this announcement:

Name	Position	School
Trev Alberts	LB	Nebraska
Eric Bieniemy	RB	Colorado
Dre Bly	DB	North Carolina
Tony Boselli	OT	USC
Brian Bosworth	LB	Oklahoma
Bob Breunig	LB	Arizona State
Jerome Brown	DT	Miami
Ruben Brown	OT	Pitt
Larry Burton	WR	Purdue
Dave Butz	DT	Purdue
Freddie Carr	LB	UTEP
Mark Carrier	S	USC
Wes Chandler	WR	Florida
Shane Conlan	LB	Penn State
Tim Couch	QB	Kentucky
Tom Cousineau	LB	Ohio State
Bob Crable	LB	Notre Dame
Paul Crane	C/LB	Alabama
Eric Crouch	QB	Nebraska
Randall Cunningham	QB/P	UNLV
Troy Davis	RB	Iowa State
Eric Dickerson	RB	SMU
Mike Dirks	DT	Wyoming
D.J. Dozier	RB	Penn State
Tim Dwight	WR/Returner	Iowa
Jumbo Elliott	OT	Michigan
William Fuller	DT	North Carolina
Thom Gatewood	WR	Notre Dame
Willie Gault	WR	Tennessee
Kirk Gibson	WR	Michigan State
Charlie Gogolak	K	Princeton
Joe Hamilton	QB	Georgia Tech
Al Harris	DE	Arizona State
Dana Howard	LB	Illinois
Randy Hughes	DB	Oklahoma
Bobby Humphrey	RB	Alabama
Raghib Ismail	WR	Notre Dame
Roy Jefferson	WR	Utah
Ernie Jennings	WR	Air Force
Keyshawn Johnson	WR	USC
Clinton Jones	RB	Michigan State
Lincoln Kennedy	OT	Washington
Tim Krumrie	DT	Wisconsin
Greg Lewis	RB	Washington
Jesse Lewis	DT	Oregon State
Ray Lewis	LB	Miami
Robert Lytle	RB	Michigan
Bob McKay	OT	Texas
Cade McNown	QB	UCLA
Mark Messner	DL	Michigan
Darrin Nelson	RB	Stanford
Ken Norton Jr	LB	UCLA
Tom Nowatzke	FB	Indiana
Jim Otis	FB	Ohio State
Paul Palmer	RB	Temple
Antwaan Randle El	QB	Indiana
Simeon Rice	LB	Illinois
Ron Rivera	LB	Cal
Willie Roaf	OL	Louisiana Tech
Mike Ruth	NG	Boston College
Rashaan Salaam	RB	Colorado
Warren Sapp	DT	Miami
John Sciarra	QB	UCLA
Larry Seivers	WR	Tennessee
Sterling Sharpe	WR	South Carolina
Art Still	DE	Kentucky
Derrick Thomas	LB	Alabama
Zach Thomas	LB	Texas Tech
LaDainian Tomlinson	RB	TCU
Jackie Walker	LB	Tennessee
Wesley Walls	TE	Mississippi
Lorenzo White	RB	Michigan State
Clarence Williams	RB	Washington State
Ricky Williams	RB	Texas
Steve Wisniewski	OG	Penn State

Name	Teams
Mike Belotti	Chico State, Oregon
Jim Carlen	West Virginia, Texas Tech, South Carolina
Pete Cawthon	Texas Tech
Danny Ford	Clemson, Arkansas
Billy Jack Murphy	Memphis
Darryl Rogers	Cal State-Hayward, Fresno State, San Jose State, Michigan State, Arizona State

*Complete ballot can be found via the National Football Foundation.

Eligibility

There is an extremely limited amount of players that are even eligible to make the College Football Hall of Fame, largely due to stringent requirements. The NFF press release provides a breakdown:

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To be eligible for the ballot, players must have been named a First Team All-American by a major/national selector as recognized and utilized by the NCAA for their consensus All-America teams; played their last year of intercollegiate football at least 10 years prior; played within the last 50 years and cannot be currently playing professional football. Coaches must have coached a minimum of 10 years and 100 games as a head coach; won at least 60 percent of their games; and be retired from coaching for at least three years. If a coach is retired and over the age of 70, there is no waiting period. If he is over the age of 75, he is eligible as an active coach. In both cases, the candidate’s post-football record as a citizen may also be weighed.

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The NFF noted that just .0002 percent of those that have played college football in the last 145 years have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, a mere 934 out of the 4.99 million players to have ever played in college.

While the club is exclusive, some supremely talented collegiate stars have been barred from entrance.

Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com pointed out that Joe Montana would never be a Hall of Famer unless the requirements change:

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The NFF election process is arcane and confusing. Based on current rules, Notre Dame's Joe Montana will never be in the College Football Hall of Fame. He was never an All-American on a team recognized by the NCAA. If that sounds outrageous, consider that at one time hall of famers had to actually graduate.

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Regardless, there are a ton of great candidates to choose from this year, and the 2014 Class should be one of the Hall’s best yet. Let’s take a look at some of the top-tier talent up for enshrinement.

Notable Players

Eric Dickerson, RB, SMU

Associated Press

Dickerson put together a special career during his time at Southern Methodist University.

He was a unanimous First-Team All-American and came in third during the Heisman Trophy voting in 1982, was the SWC Player of the Year on two occasions and holds numerous Mustangs records that still stand today, including most career rushing yards with 4,450.

Dickerson’s junior and senior seasons were two of the most memorable in college history. He rushed for 1,428 yards and 19 touchdowns in 1981 (his junior year) and followed that up with a 1,617-yard, 17-score outing in his final SMU campaign.

Matt Park said that Dickerson, who went on to have an immensely successful professional career, has to be a shoo-in to make the 2014 Class:

Due to his incredible body of work with the Mustangs, it’s hard to picture a College Football Hall of Fame without the Sealy, Texas, native.

Derrick Thomas, LB, Alabama

Allen Steele/Getty Images

Thomas was an absolute nightmare for offensive coordinators to deal with during his time with the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The star linebacker was a unanimous First-Team All-American in 1988 and also won the Butkus Award and was named the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year during the same season.

He helped the Tide roll to four straight bowl appearances and set the NCAA career sack record with 52. His total of 74 tackles for loss also ranks amongst the top in that statistical category.

It shocked Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated when he saw Thomas’ name on the ballot, as he figured that the superstar would have already been enshrined:

Regardless, it is better late than never for D.T. The Miami native was a clear standout during his time in Tuscaloosa and he should be forever remembered within the hallowed grounds of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Brian Bosworth, LB, Oklahoma

Anonymous/Associated Press

Bosworth had to wait 14 long years since the time he was eligible to finally get put on the ballot. It’s been a long time coming, but that has not diminished the superstar linebacker’s collegiate achievements one bit.

The Sooners product was a two-time consensus All-American in 1985 and 1986, also winning the Butkus Award in each of those seasons. His defensive prowess helped Oklahoma to three straight Orange Bowl appearances and the 1985 national championship.

Bosworth holds the Sooner record for most tackles in a game with 22 and led the team in that category from 1984 through 1986.

Don’t expect “The Boz” to be too excited about this, however, as he told Dodd he didn’t want to be part of the Hall of Fame back in 2012: "I don't need to be part of some club. To me, the last thing I want to do is be reminded I'm not playing anymore. It crushes me."

Regardless, voters should still elect to enshrine Bosworth to the Hall of Fame. He’s as worthy a candidate as any of the 75 on the ballot, and his tenure with Oklahoma was historically memorable.