I was unable to attend the announcement ceremonies for the newest class--well the fbs portion anyway--of College Football Hall of Famers and maybe it was for the best as I really do not like Jimmy Johnson. That said, I am sure the National Football Foundation did a great job of hosting the event.
As for the voters, well all I can say is that they have a difficult job. Although lacking headliners (four different teases for the class mentioned four different inductees), the class certainly has some fine players and coaches. And it is a typical class in which stars from one generation ago, like Jonathan Ogden are joined by very good players from the generation prior, like Charles Alexander. How Art Monk, who was never a national name while at a rebuilding Syracuse and was stuck in a running offense his junior and senior seasons, got it is a head scratcher as too the rush to put in Greg Myers, a very good safety from the 1990s. He probably got a boost from his excellent academic work, but that adds a measure of confusion for the public.
As for coaches, well they all seem to get in. Both Phil Fulmer and R.C. Slocum were fine coaches, but Hall of Famers? Neither was hired by anyone after being fired from the schools that they are most associated with, despite still being young enough to run a team. But I really do not have a problem with either. My beef with Johnson is as a Notre Dame and Giants fan. But he really only won when having a great advantage in talent, but that describes a lot of top names in the industry.
As a BYU man, I am estatic that Ty Detmer finally made it. Unbelievable player and unbelievably down to earth and personable.
ReplyDeleteIf you wish, here is a link to a story/interview I did with him following the announcement.
http://www.bluecougarfootball.com/2012/05/ty-detmer-talks-hall-of-fame-and-byu.html