New Hall of Fame Class

Jonathan Ogden is a big dude.  Big.  Nice guy too.  But he is big.  He dwarfed guys like Dave Casper, guys that we normally think of as large.
But what is funny about annually attending the National Football Foundation's press conference introducing the latest class of college hall of famers, which took place yesterday at the Waldorf Astoria, is that physically imposing players like Ogden are the rarities.  Most of the guys look like guys off the street, although of course it is not always easy to see "speed" if the main weapon the player used to gain consensus All American status was his ability to race by others.  The reality is that the majority of hall of famers are not the five star guys but the guys with the biggest heart (who also had talent, work ethic, coaching, etc).
The new hall of famer I interviewed the longest yesterday, Mark Simoneau, the great linebacker from Kansas State, epitomizes all of that.  Not a large guy, Simoneau's physical presence these days does not scream starting linebacker let alone consensus All American or long-time NFL veteran.  And not surprisingly he was not a big-time recruit out of Smith Center High School in Kansas.  Fortunately for him the one Division One program coming after him, Kansas State, was a perfect fit.  He had the talent, work ethic and chip on his shoulder after being overlooked by others and they supplied outstanding coaching and an opportunity to play right away.  He became a four-year starter, averaging exactly 100 tackles per season, for a Wildcats team that won 42 games.  And Simoneau can relate to today's Cats as his '98 team was 11-0 and one win away from a spot in the BCS title game before being upset by Texas A&M 36-33.  Although his NFL career was less heralded, he did play for close to a decade and did lead the Eagles in tackles in 2003.
I also talked for a bit with Steve Bartkowski, who definitely has the former pro-player-now-more-comfortable-on-the-golf-course look.  We laughed about how the game has changed where he could be an All America and future Hall of Famer based on throwing for 2,508y as a senior in 1974.  That is the target total for mid-season for some of the new guys.  We discussed the Falcons for a bit too and he is more active with them due to living in Georgia, although he looks forward to being active with the Hall of Fame in 2014 when it finally moves to Atlanta.  We also discussed Christmas shopping for our kids, but I won't bore you with that.
My other interview was with former Texas Tech defensive tackle Gabe Rivera, who is the rare player of Latin heritage honored for football.  Rivera is, of course, one of the poster children for wasted talent as his drunk driving accident in 1983, his rookie year with the Steelers, has kept him in a wheelchair ever since.  But this honor rightfully refocuses the attention on Rivera from what might have been to what was a truly excellent college football career.  Interior defensive lineman back in Rivera's day were known for speed while today's nose guards are behemoths.  "Senor Smoke" was both and occasionally unstoppable. He also is a proud San Antonio native and we discussed how unbelievable it is that of the 14 former players honored yesterday, four are from Alamo City.  Rivera, Scott Thomas, who was a star safety for Air Force in the 1980s, Ty Detmer, the former Heisman winner from BYU and ex Rice star QB Tommy Kramer are all products of San Antonio high schools. That is amazing.
I did not have a chance to talk to the others, Charles Alexander, Otis Armstrong, Hal Bedsole, Casper, Detmer, Kramer, Art Monk, Greg Myers, Ogden, Thomas, John Wooten and coaches Phil Fulmer, Jimmy Johnson, and R.C. Slocum. Congratulations also to the current players honored for their ability to do well in school and in the classroom and as volunteers.  All in all it was a great morning.