College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2019

The National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame announced yesterday the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2019. The Class includes 13 First Team All-America players and two coaches. The 15 new Hall of Famers will be inducted at the 62nd National Football Foundation Awards Dinner on December 10 in New York City.

2019 COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS

PLAYERS:

• TERRELL BUCKLEY – DB, Florida State (1989-91)
• RICKEY DIXON – DB, Oklahoma (1984-87)
• LONDON FLETCHER – LB, John Carroll [OH] (1995-97)
• JACOB GREEN – DL, Texas A&M (1977-79)
• TORRY HOLT – WR, North Carolina State (1995-98)
• RAGHIB ISMAIL – KR/WR, Notre Dame (1988-90)
• DARREN McFADDEN – RB, Arkansas (2005-07)
• JAKE PLUMMER – QB, Arizona State (1993-96)
• TROY POLAMALU – DB, Southern California (1999-2002)
• JOE THOMAS – OL, Wisconsin (2003-06)
• LORENZO WHITE – RB, Michigan State (1984-87)
• PATRICK WILLIS – LB, Mississippi (2003-06)
• VINCE YOUNG – QB, Texas (2003-05)

COACHES:

• DENNIS ERICKSON – 179-96-1 (65.0%); Idaho (1982-85, 2006), Wyoming (1986), Washington State (1987-88), Miami [FL] (1989-94), Oregon State (1999-2002), Arizona State (2007-11)
• JOE TAYLOR – 233-96-4 (70.6%); Howard (1983), Virginia Union (1984-91), Hampton (1992-2007), Florida A&M (2008-12)

It's a fine class. They always are. Jake Plummer, Tory Holt, Troy Polamalu, Patrick Willis, London Fletcher, and Joe Thomas were among my favorite players (college and pro) of their era. Vince Young had one of the greatest college performances ever. And he did it in a championship game. 

Congratulations to the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2019.

From the National Football Foundation Website: 

2019 COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS NOTES

PLAYERS:

• ONE NFF National Scholar-Athlete (Thomas)


• FIVE unanimous First Team All-Americans (Buckley, Ismail, McFadden, Thomas, White)


• EIGHT consensus First Team All-Americans (Dixon, Holt, Ismail, McFadden, Polamalu, White, Willis, Young)


• FIVE multi-year First Team All-Americans (Fletcher (2), Ismail (2), McFadden (2), Polamalu (2), White (2))


• SEVEN winners of college football major awards (Buckley – Thorpe; Dixon – Thorpe; Ismail – Walter Camp; McFadden – Doak Walker (2), Walter Camp; Thomas – Outland; Willis – Butkus; Young – Davey O'Brien, Maxwell)


• THREE national championships (Dixon, Ismail, Young)


• FIVE conference players of the year (Holt, McFadden (2), Plummer, Willis, Young)


• FIVE members of conference championship teams (Dixon (4), Plummer, Polamalu, White, Young)


• 10 players who still hold school records (Buckley, Dixon, Fletcher, Green, Holt, Ismail, McFadden, Plummer, White, Young)


• FIVE played for College Football Hall of Fame coaches (Buckley – Bobby Bowden, Dixon – Barry Switzer, Ismail – Lou Holtz, Thomas – Barry Alvarez, Young – Mack Brown)


• 10 first-round NFL draft picks (Buckley, Dixon, Green, Holt, McFadden, Polamalu, Thomas, White, Willis, Young)


• SEVEN offensive players (Holt, Ismail, McFadden, Plummer, Thomas, White, Young)


• SIX defensive players (Buckley, Dixon, Fletcher, Green, Polamalu, Willis)


• FOUR decades represented: 1970s (1) – Green; 80s (3) – Dixon, Ismail, White; 1990s (4) – Buckley, Fletcher, Holt, Plummer; 2000s (5) – McFadden, Polamalu, Thomas, Willis, Young


• ONE school with its first-ever College Football Hall of Fame inductee (John Carroll [Ohio] – Fletcher)

COACHES:

• SIX national championships (Erickson – 2, Taylor – 4)


• 16 conference championships (Erickson – 6, Taylor – 10)


• Most wins in school history (Taylor – Hampton)


• Highest winning percentage in school history (Erickson – Miami [FL], Oregon State*)

            *among head coaches with more than three years at the helm

• 13 bowl appearances (Erickson – 12, Taylor – 1)


• 12 playoff appearances (Erickson – 2, Taylor – 10)


• 89 First Team All-Americans coached (Erickson – 21, Taylor – 68)


• 10 conference coach of the year honors (Erickson – 6, Taylor – 4)