2007 College Football Hall of Fame inductees

The 2007 College Football Hall of Fame inductees were chosen by a ballot which consisted of 75 players and 8 coaches who were voted on by more than twelve-thousand voters for inclusion into the College Football Hall of Fame. The 2007 class was announced at a press conference in New York City at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on May 9, 2007, and was inducted at The National Football Foundation’s 50th Awards Dinner on December 4, 2007, also at the Waldorf-Astoria. They were then enshrined into the hall of fame in South Bend, Indiana in the summer of 2008.

Once nominated for consideration, all player candidates were submitted to one of eight District Screening Committees, depending on their geographic location, which conducted a vote to determine who appeared on the ballot and represented their respective districts. Each year, 15 candidates, who are not selected for the Hall of Fame, will be named automatic holdovers and will bypass the district screening process and automatically appear on the ballot the following year.

Joe Paterno was inducted this year as well, despite not being on this ballot. He was voted in on the 2006 ballot but was unable to attend the induction due to a sideline injury.

Inductees

edit
Players
Coach

[1]

Players

edit

To be eligible for the ballot, players must have:

  • Been named a First Team All-America 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 ten years prior;
  • Played within the last 50 years (since 1957 for the 2007 ballot, making three candidates, Don Stephenson, Jim Taylor, and Clendon Thomas their last year eligible to be voted in);
  • Cannot be currently playing professional football.

The candidate’s post-football record as a citizen was also weighed.

The University of Notre Dame led this year's ballot with 8 nominations followed by the University of Southern California with 5 and the Ohio State University and University of Oklahoma tied with 3 each.

Name School(s) Position Last year played
Troy Aikman Oklahoma
UCLA
Quarterback 1988
Trev Alberts Nebraska Linebacker 1993
Otis Armstrong Purdue Running back 1972
Pervis Atkins New Mexico State Running back 1960
Tony Boselli Southern California Offensive tackle 1994
Tom Brahaney Oklahoma Center 1972
Dave Brown Michigan Defensive back 1974
Tim Brown[2] Notre Dame Wide receiver 1987
Mark Carrier Southern California Safety 1989
Dave Casper Notre Dame Offensive tackle/tight end 1973
Ronnie Caveness Arkansas Center 1964
Bob Crable Notre Dame Linebacker 1981
Randy Cross[2] UCLA Offensive guard 1975
Randall Cunningham UNLV Punter/Quarterback 1984
Sam Cunningham Southern California Running back 1972
Jeff Davis Clemson Linebacker 1981
Eric Dickerson Southern Methodist Running back 1982
Jim Dombrowski Virginia Offensive tackle 1985
D. J. Dozier Penn State Running back 1986
Ed Dyas Auburn Fullback 1960
Bill Enyart Oregon State Fullback 1968
Pat Fitzgerald[2] Northwestern Linebacker 1996
Doug Flutie[2] Boston College Quarterback 1984
Kirk Gibson Michigan State Wide receiver 1978
Bob Golic Notre Dame Linebacker 1978
Terrence Hanratty Notre Dame Quarterback 1968
Al Harris Arizona State Defensive end 1978
Major Harris West Virginia Quarterback 1989
Mark Herrmann Purdue Quarterback 1980
Dick Jauron Yale Running back 1972
Johnnie Johnson Texas Safety 1979
Rex Kern Ohio State Quarterback 1970
Tommy Kramer Rice Quarterback 1976
George Kunz Notre Dame Offensive tackle 1968
Jess Lewis Oregon State Defensive tackle 1969
Robert Lytle Michigan Running back 1976
Rueben Mayes Washington State Running back 1985
Randall McDaniel Arizona State Offensive guard 1987
Pat McInally Harvard Tight end 1974
Marlin McKeever Southern California Tight end 1960
Don McPherson Syracuse Quarterback 1987
George Mira Miami (Fla.) Quarterback 1963
Art Monk Syracuse Wide receiver 1979
Paul Naumoff Tennessee Linebacker 1966
Bob Novogratz Army Offensive guard 1958
Tom Nowatzke Indiana Fullback 1964
Jim Otis Ohio State Fullback 1969
Dave Parks Texas Tech Wide receiver 1963
Ahmad Rashad Oregon Running back 1971
Deion Sanders Florida State Defensive back 1988
Lucius Sanford Georgia Tech Linebacker 1977
Jake Scott Georgia Defensive back 1968
Larry Seivers Tennessee Wide receiver 1976
Jim Seymour Notre Dame Wide receiver 1968
Ron Simmons Florida State Nose guard 1980
Chris Spielman Ohio State Linebacker 1987
Larry Station Iowa Linebacker 1985
Don Stephenson Georgia Tech Center 1957
Darryl Talley West Virginia Linebacker 1982
Jim Taylor Louisiana State Fullback 1957
Lawrence Taylor North Carolina Linebacker 1980
Marvin Terrell Mississippi Offensive Guard/Nose guard 1959
Clendon Thomas Oklahoma Running back 1957
Thurman Thomas Oklahoma State Running back 1987
Anthony Thompson Indiana Running back 1989
Gino Torretta Miami (Fla.) Quarterback 1992
Don Trull Baylor Quarterback 1963
Curt Warner[2] Penn State Running back 1982
Wilson Whitley Houston Defensive tackle 1976
Clarence Williams Washington State Running back 1974
Reggie Williams Dartmouth Linebacker 1975
Scott Woerner Georgia Defensive back 1980
Richard Wood Southern California Linebacker 1974
Ryan Yarborough Wyoming Wide receiver 1993
Chris Zorich Notre Dame Defensive tackle 1990

Coaches

edit

To be eligible for the ballot, coaches must have:

  • Coached a minimum of 10 years and 100 games as a head coach;
  • Won at least 60% (.600+) of their games;
  • Be retired from coaching or over the age of 75.

The candidate’s post-football record as a citizen was also weighed.

Jim Donnan led the 2007 ballot with the highest winning percentage (.722). However, John Cooper had the most wins (193) and most seasons as head coach (24). Herb Deromedi had the longest tenure at one school with 16 years at Central Michigan University.

Name School(s) Years Record Pct.
John Cooper Tulsa 1977–84 56–32 .636
Arizona State 1985–87 25–9–2 .735
Ohio State 1988–2000 111–43–4 .721
Total 24 years 193–83–6 .695
Herb Deromedi Central Michigan 1978-93 110-55-10 .657
Total 16 years 110-55-10 .657
William Henry Dietz Washington State 1915-17 17-2-1 .895
Purdue 1921 1-6 .143
Louisiana Tech 1922-23 11-3-1 .786
Wyoming 1924-26 10-13-2 .435
Haskell Indian Institute (KS) 1929-32 57-38-3 .600
Albright (PA) 1937-42
Total 19 years 96-62-7 .603
Jim Donnan Georgia 1996–2000 40-19 .678
Marshall 1990-95 64-21 .842
Total 11 years 104-40 .722
Wayne Hardin Navy 1959-64 38-22-2 .633
Temple 1970-82 80-52-3 .606
Total 19 years 118-74-5 .612
Dick MacPherson Massachusetts 1971-77 45-27-1 .625
Syracuse 1981-90 66-46-4 .589
Total 17 years 111-73-5 .601
Billy J. Murphy Memphis State 1958-71 91-44-1 .673
Total 14 years 91-44-1 .673
Darryl Rogers Cal State-Hayward 1965 3-7 .300
Fresno State 1966-72 43-32-1 .573
San José State 1973-75 22-9-3 .710
Michigan State 1976-79 24-18-2 .571
Arizona State 1980-84 37-18-1 .673
Total 20 years 129-84-7 .602

Sources

edit

Footnotes

edit
  1. ^ "Flutie elected to Hall in first year of eligibility". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 2007-05-09. Archived from the original on 13 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
  2. ^ a b c d e First year on ballot