Congrove Presents His 2024 College Football HOF Selections

June 19, 2023 by CollegeFootballPoll.com Staff

NOTE: CollegeFootballPoll.com's Dave Congrove is a voting member of The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame.

CollegeFootballPoll.com's Dave Congrove today submitted his ballot for the 2024 Class of the College Football Hall of Fame. This is his 12th straight season as a voter.

The ballot was sent to eligible voters on June 5th. There are more than 12,000 NFF members and current Hall of Famers whose votes will be tabulated and submitted to the NFF's Honors Court, which will deliberate and select the class. The Honors Court includes an elite and geographically diverse pool of athletic administrators, Hall of Famers and members of the media.

Each voter can select up to 12 FBS players and 2 FBS head coaches, in addition to 4 divisional players (FCS and below) and 2 divisional head coaches.

Congrove's selections includes 9 FBS players that he selected last year, but were not ultimately voted in to the hall. Those players are Florida State RB Warrick Dunn, Tennessee WR Willie Gault, Arkansas DT Dan Hampton, Syracuse WR Marvin Harrison, Boise State QB Kellen Moore, UCLA LB Ken Norton Jr., North Carolina DE Julius Peppers, Indiana QB Antwaan Randle El, and Cal LB Ron Rivera.

His 3 new FBS player selections are CAL RB Marshawn Lynch, Arizona State DE Terrell Suggs, and Virginia Tech QB Michael Vick.

Many of his selections went on to have distinguished careers in the NFL. For instance, Dunn was part of the 1999 Tampa team that fell one game short of the Super Bowl, and he later helped the Falcons earn a spot in the 2004 NFC Championship.

Gault was a member of the 1986 Chicago Bears Super Bowl squad, as were Hampton and Rivera. Ironically, Harrison was on the Indianapolis Colts' team that beat Chicago in the 2007 Super Bowl.

Norton collected a pair of Super Bowl rings with the Dallas Cowboys (1988, 1993) and even had a fumble scoop and score in the latter.

In just his second season in the pros, Peppers helped lead Carolina to the 2003 season Super Bowl.

Lynch was born in the same year of that infamous Chicago Bears Super Bowl team, and later played in two Super Bowls himself with Seattle (2013 and 2014 seasons).

Suggs played on a pair of Super Bowl-winning teams, the 2011 Baltimore Ravens' squad and the 2018 Kansas City Chiefs. Both victories came against the 49ers.

Vick never played in a Super Bowl, but is credited with transforming the quarterback position. In 12 seasons, he threw for 22,464 yards and 133 TD's, and ran for 6,109 yards and 36 TD's.

Congrove had 3 players on his ballot last year that were ultimately inducted into he 2023 class. Those were USC RB Reggie Bush, Virginia Tech DE Corey Moore and Wisconsin DB Troy Vincent.

His 2 FBS coach selections are both repeated from last year. They are Larry Blakeney (Troy) and Frank Solich (Nebraska and Ohio University).

Congrove's 4 divisional player selections include 3 holdovers from a year ago, two of which played at Mississippi Valley State, albeit more than a decade apart - LB Vincent Brown and WR Bob Gaddis - along with Lafayette LB Joe Skladany.

His 4th divisional player selection this year is Marshall WR Randy Moss who played in the 2007 Super Bowl with New England and the 2012 season game with San Francisco. Both were losses.

Congrove's 2 divisional coaches are repeats from last year - Forrest Perkins of Wisconsin Whitewater, and Lou Wacker of Emory & Henry.

The announcement of the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be made in early 2024, with specific details to be announced in the future.

The 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted during the 66th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 10, 2024, and permanently immortalized at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. They will also be honored at their respective schools with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the 2024 season.

The criteria for Hall of Fame consideration include:

• First and foremost, a player must have received First-Team All-America recognition by a selector that is recognized by the NCAA and utilized to comprise its consensus All-America teams.
• A player becomes eligible for consideration by the Foundation's Honors Courts 10 full seasons after his final year of intercollegiate football played.
• 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. Consideration may also be given for academic honors and whether the candidate earned a college degree.
• Players must have played their last year of intercollegiate football within the last 50 years.* For example, to be eligible for the 2024 ballot, the player must have played his last year in 1974 or thereafter. In addition, players who are playing professionally and coaches who are coaching on the professional level are not eligible until after they retire.
• A coach becomes eligible three full seasons after retirement or immediately following retirement provided he is at least 70 years of age. Active coaches become eligible at 75 years of age. He must have been a head football coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage.
• Nominations may only be submitted by the current athletics director, head coach or sports information director (SID) of a candidate's collegiate institution. Nominations may also be submitted by the president/executive director of a dues-paying chapter of the National Football Foundation.

Of the 5.62 million individuals who have played college football since Princeton first battled Rutgers on Nov. 6, 1869, only 1,074 players have earned induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, or less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of those who have played the game during the past 153 seasons. From the coaching ranks, 230 individuals have achieved Hall of Fame distinction.

Congrove's FBS Player Selections:

Warrick Dunn, Florida State-Running Back-1996 First Team All-American and 1995 Third Team All-American who led the Noles to the 1993 national title…Three-time First Team All-ACC performer led the league with 8.7 ppg in 1995…Only FSU rusher in history to gain more than 1,000 yards in three-consecutive seasons.

Willie Gault, Tennessee-Wide Receiver-1982 First Team All-American…Led Vols to three bowl berths…Set six conference and 12 school punt / kickoff return records…Tied NCAA record for most touchdowns by kick return in a single season (3) in 1980.

Dan Hampton, Arkansas-Defensive Tackle-1978 First Team All-American and two-time All-SWC selection…Named 1978 Houston Post Outstanding Player of the Year in the SWC, recording 18 TFL during his senior campaign…Helped Hogs beat No. 19 Georgia in 1976 Cotton Bowl and No. 2 Oklahoma in 1978 Orange Bowl.

Marvin Harrison, Syracuse-Kick Returner/Wide Receiver-1995 First Team All-American as a kick returner and 1995 Big East Special Teams Player of the Year…Three-time All-Big East selection who set a conference record with a 94-yard punt return for a TD in 1995…Left Syracuse as the school's all-time receiving leader (2,718 yards).

Marshawn Lynch, California-Running Back-2006 First Team All-American who led Cal to a share of the 2006 Pac-10 title…2006 Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year led the league in rushing (1,356), all-purpose yards (1,785) and TDs (15) that season…Two-time bowl game MVP (2005 Las Vegas, 2006 Holiday) and Cal's all-time leader in 100-yard rushing games (17).

Kellen Moore, Boise State-Quarterback-2010 First Team All-American finished career as the winningest starting QB (.943) in college football history…Set the NCAA record for lowest career INT percentage (.017) and tied NCAA record with four 3,000-yard passing seasons…Boise State's all-time leading passer (14,667) earned three conference Player of the Year honors (2-WAC, 1-MWC).

Ken Norton Jr., UCLA-Linebacker-1987 First Team All-American, leading Bruins to four consecutive bowl wins… Member of the 1985 conference championship team… Led team in tackles in 1986 (106) and in 1987 (125) and ranks sixth in school history with 339 career tackles.

Julius Peppers, North Carolina-Defensive End-2001 unanimous First Team All-American and winner of the 2001 Bednarik and Lombardi awards…2001 Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year who finished 10th in Heisman Trophy voting…Two-time First Team All-ACC selection, leading the conference in TFL (24) and sacks (15) in 2000.

Antwaan Randle El, Indiana-Quarterback-2001 First Team All-American…First player in FBS history to pass for 6,000 yards and rush for 3,000 yards in career…Rushed for more yards than any QB in FBS history upon conclusion of career.

Ron Rivera, California-Linebacker-1983 consensus First Team All-American…Lombardi Award finalist in 1983 and named East-West Shrine Game Most Valuable Player…Selected as Pac-10 Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 1983…Led team in tackles from 1981-83.

Terrell Suggs, Arizona State-Defensive End-2002 unanimous First Team All-American, winning the Nagurski and Lombardi awards after leading the nation in sacks (24) and TFL (31.5)…2002 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year and Morris Trophy winner as the conference's top lineman…Ranks second all-time in Pac-10 history with 65.5 TFL and 44 sacks in his career.

Michael Vick, Virginia Tech-Quarterback-1999 First Team All-American and Big East Offensive Player of the Year, finishing third in Heisman Trophy voting…Guided the Hokies to their first-ever 11-0 regular season and national championship game appearance (1999)…Two-time All-Big East performer who led the league in total offense (242.0 ypg) in 1999 and only lost one conference game during career.

Congrove's FBS Coach Selections:

Larry Blakeney-Troy (1991-2014)-All-time winningest coach in Sun Belt Conference history…Four-time conference Coach of the Year who led the Trojans to eight conference titles (5 – Sun Belt, 3 – Southland) and seven FCS playoff appearances in eight seasons…Led Troy to four bowl games, including wins at the 2006 and 2010 New Orleans Bowl.

Frank Solich-Nebraska (1998-03), Ohio (2005-20)-Guided the Huskers to an 11-2 record and appearance in the BCS championship game at the Rose Bowl (2001 season)…Two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year who led Nebraska to three North Division titles and the 1999 Big 12 Championship…Winningest coach in MAC history (115 wins), boasting 12-straight non-losing seasons, 11 bowl game appearances and four MAC East crowns.

Congrove's Divisional Player Selections:

Vincent Brown, Mississippi Valley State-Linebacker-1987 First Team All-American, leading the NCAA in tackles in 1986 and 1987…Set NCAA All-Divisions record with 570 career tackles…Two-time All-SWAC selection who led MVSU in tackles his last three seasons.

Bob Gaddis, Mississippi Valley State-Wide Receiver-1974 First Team All-American and Pittsburgh Courier National Receiver of the Year…Named 1970 NAIA Freshman of the Year en route to twice leading the NAIA in yards per catch (1971-72)…Three-time All-SWAC selection led conference in yards per catch all four years.

Randy Moss, Marshall-Wide Receiver/Kick Returner-Two-time First Team All-American in 1996 at both WR and KR, leading Marshall to a 15-0 record and an FCS National Championship…1997 unanimous First Team All-American, Biletnikoff winner and Heisman Trophy finalist in the Herd's first FBS season…1997 MAC Offensive Player of the Year who set the NCAA record for single-season TD receptions (26).

Joe Skladany, Lafayette-Linebacker-Named First Team All-American in 1981…Four-year starter who never missed a game…Boasts school records for career tackles (532) and blocked kicks in a season (3)…Team captain and two-time Team MVP who led nation's second-ranked defense in 1981.

Congrove's Divisional Coach Selections:

Forrest Perkins-Wisconsin-Whitewater (1956-84)-At the time of his retirement, he ranked second on the active wins list on the Division III level…Named NAIA Coach of the Year in 1966…The all-time winningest coach in conference and school history…captured 11 conference titles.

Lou Wacker-Emory & Henry (VA) (1982-2004)-Most wins in Emory & Henry history, leading the Wasps to five NCAA playoff appearances…11 ODAC titles, including six-of-seven from 1994-00…Boasted a 37-game home winning streak from 1991-98.

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