(Irving, TX) Coaching, special teams and defense wins football games, many say. The 2024 National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame ballot will have three Sun Devils from each of these areas.
Terrell Suggs, Luis Zendejas and head coach Darryl Rogers are on the ballot as the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced the names on the 2024 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, including 78 players and nine coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 101 players and 32 coaches from the divisional ranks.
“It’s an enormous honor to just be on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot considering more than 5.62 million people have played college football and only 1,074 players have been inducted,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “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 we look forward to announcing the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class early next year.”
Here is a quick look at the Sun Devil trio on the ballot for 2024.
TERRELL SUGGS (2000-2002)/SUN DEVIL HALL OF FAMER INDUCTED IN 2022
One of the most decorated student-athletes to play for Arizona State in any sport, two-time Super Bowl champion Terrell Suggs was awarded the Bronko Nagurski Trophy for the nation’s top collegiate defensive player and also received the Rotary Lombardi Trophy as the country’s top lineman, the Morris Trophy for the top defensive lineman in the Pac-10, and the Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award in his junior season (2002), the first ASU player to win an award on the national level for football. The Hamilton High School standout was a two-time All-Pac-10 first-team honoree, and was the 12th consensus All-American for the Devils in 2002. He led the Sun Devils in sacks and tackles for loss all three seasons, breaking the NCAA record for sacks in a season with 24 in 2002. Suggs was tops in the country in tackles for loss in 2002, leading with 31.5, and was tied for most forced fumbles in the Pac-10 with six. He still holds holds the ASU record for sacks in a season (24, 2002), career sacks (44), yards on sacks in a season (171, 2002), career yards on sacks (288), tackles for loss in a season (31.5, 2002) and career tackles for loss (65.5). He earned Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and first-team Freshman All-America from Football News, as he became only the second true freshman in school history to start the first game of the season, and was one of six true freshmen to play his first season. He also named the Columbus Touchdown Club Defensive Lineman of the Year, Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, and Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 26).
LUIS ZENDEJAS (1981-84)/SUN DEVIL HALL OF FAMER INDUCTED IN 1995
A 1983 consensus first-team All-American who finished his career as the NCAA’s all-time leader in scoring (380), Zendejas was a four-time All-Pac-10 selection, leading the league in scoring in 1983. He boasts the highest PAT percentage (.993) in ASU annals and led the team in scoring his first three seasons. He played for the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles.
DARRYL ROGERS (SUN DEVIL HEAD COACH 1980-84)/SUN DEVIL HALL OF FAME INDUCTED IN 2012
Head coach Darryl Rogers earned all kinds of honors and victories while coaching at Cal State East Bay (1965), Fresno State (1966-72), San Jose State (1973-75) and Michigan State (1976-79) before coming to Arizona State for five years. He took Fresno State to two bowl games, achieved an unprecedented national ranking at San Jose State, was named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1977 and National Coach of the Year by Sporting News in 1978 and on the Big Ten title in 1978 before coming to ASU. He went 37-18-1 (.670) in his five years at ASU, posted four winning seasons, and in 1982 he led the Sun Devils to a 10-2 mark and a victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 1983.
The ballot was emailed today to the 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, chaired by NFF Board Member and College Football Hall of Famer Archie Griffin from Ohio State, includes an elite and geographically diverse pool of athletic administrators, Hall of Famers and members of the media.
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.
Once nominated for consideration, all FBS player candidates are submitted to one of eight District Screening Committees, depending on their school’s geographic location, which conducts a vote to determine who will appear on the ballot and represent their respective districts. Each year, approximately 15 candidates, who are not selected for the Hall of Fame but received significant votes in the final selection, will be named automatic holdovers and will bypass the district screening process and automatically appear on the ballot the following year. Additionally, the Veterans Committee may make recommendations to the Honors Court for exceptions that allow for the induction of players who played more than 50 years ago. The Honors Court annually reviews the Hall of Fame criteria to ensure a fair and streamlined process.
Press Release courtesy of the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame
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