Vince Young and Carson Palmer headline College Football Hall of Fame 2019 ballot
The National Football Foundation has released its 2019 ballot for the College Hall of Fame ballot, and the list of eligible players is headlined by two all-time great college quarterbacks.
Former USC Trojan Carson Palmer — who won the Heisman Trophy in 2002 — and former Texas Longhorn signal-caller Vince Young — who was the Heisman runner-up in 2005 — are among the 76 player nominees, per ESPN.
Palmer was a consensus All-American in 2002 while he kept a young Matt Leinart glued to the Trojans bench. He was then drafted first overall in 2003 and had a 15-year NFL career that ended after the 2017 season.
Young was an All-American in 2005, and finished that season with a legendary performance in one of the most iconic games in college football history. He led Texas to a Rose Bowl victory over USC and the Longhorns’ first national championship since 1970.
To be eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame, players must be at least 10 years removed from their final college game.
In addition, players can no longer be actively playing in the pros and must have received a First-Team All-American recognition by a selector used by the NCAA.
The NFF’s CEO, Steve Hatchell, put things into perspective when talking about how prestigious of an honor it is to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
“It’s an enormous honor to just be on the ballot when you think that more than 5.26 million people have played college football and only 997 players have been inducted,” Hatchell said via a news release. “The Hall’s requirement of being a First-Team All-American creates a much smaller pool of about 1,500 individuals who are even eligible. Being in today’s elite group means an individual is truly among the greatest to have ever played the game, and those actually elected to the Class will be part of a momentous year as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of college football in 2019.”
The full list of nominees includes many players already in the Pro Football Hall of Fame such as Marvin Harrison, Eric Dickerson and Dan Hampton.
It also includes players soon to be enshrined into Canton, like Ray Lewis, Tony Gonzalez and Troy Polamalu.
There could be some posthumous inductions into the College Football Hall of Fame, as the late Steve McNair and 1994 Heisman winner Rashaan Salaam are also among the nominees.
Along with the 76 players, there are also six FBS coaches on the list of nominees, including two-time national champion Dennis Erickson.
Coaches become eligible after three seasons of retirement or right after retirement if they are at least 70 years old. If still active, then they become eligible at 75 years of age.
They also must have been a head coach for at least 10 years, coached at least 100 games and posted a winning percentage of at least .600.
The announcement for the 2019 class will be made on Jan. 7, 2019, in Santa Clara, California, where the College Football Playoff National Championship Game is being played.
The 2019 class will then be inducted on Dec. 10, 2019, at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner in New York.
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