2016 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot Released: Latest Comments and Reaction

The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame announced Tuesday the players and the coaches eligible to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016.  

According to the official release on FootballFoundation.org, a total of 200 players and coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and other divisions are on the ballot, led by former Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart, Eric Dickerson and Ray Lewis. 

One of the most notable players eligible for induction is Randall Cunningham, though not for reasons you would think, as Dan Wolken of USA Today noted:

Here is a list of notable nominees on the 2016 Hall of Fame ballot:

Player	School
Matt Leinart, QB	USC
Derrick Brooks, LB	Florida State
Kerry Collins, QB	Penn State
Eric Crouch, QB	Nebraska
Eric Dickerson, RB	SMU
Ray Lewis, LB	Miami
Rashaan Salaam, RB	Colorado
Brian Urlacher, DB	New Mexico

To be eligible for induction, per the Football Foundation site, players had to meet many criteria for their on-field efforts:

"

...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 need at least 10 years and 100 games of experience as a head coach, winning "at least 60 percent of their games; and be retired from coaching for at least three years."

There are exceptions to that rule, as retired coaches who are at least 70 don't have to go through a waiting period, and active coaches over 75 are eligible. 

After being nominated for consideration, players' names will go to one of the eight District Screening Committees around the country based on their school's geographic location. Each committee will conduct a vote to decide who "will appear on the ballot and represent their respective districts."

National Football Foundation President and CEO Steve Hatchell said in the press release that the criteria just to get nominated proves how special it is to be on the ballot given the vast number of athletes who have played college football:

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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, and we are proud to announce their names. We look forward to announcing the 2016 Hall of Fame Class on the Friday before the College Football Playoff National Championship.

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The 2016 College Football Hall of Fame class will be announced on January 8 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Just as the NFL uses Super Bowl week to announce its Hall of Fame inductees, college football is able to use its own championship game as a stage for its Hall of Fame. 

Next year's national title game takes place January 11 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. There is no shortage of talent on the ballot worthy of one of the highest honors a college football player can achieve, though not everyone will hear their name called. Last year, just 15 players and two coaches, including former Texas running back Ricky Williams and former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, earned the honor.

One of the best parts of any Hall of Fame is the debate it encourages. Few sports have followings more passionate then college football, so expect plenty of celebrating and arguing when the results are announced next January.