Former Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam of Colorado, and former Toledo and Missouri coach Gary Pinkel headline the 2022 College Football Hall of Fame class announced Monday.
Penn State’s LaVar Arrington, Georgia’s Champ Bailey, Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree, Alabama’s Sylvester Croom and Oklahoma’s Roy Williams were also selected.
The 18 players and three coaches in the 2022 class were selected from a national ballot of 78 players and seven coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision, 99 players and 33 coaches from the divisional ranks, and the National Football Foundation Veterans Committee candidates.
The class includes 11 players who were conference players of the year: Arrington, Ohio State DB Mike Doss, Toledo QB Chuck Ealey (3), Illinois DT Moe Gardner, Illinois State LB Boomer Grigsby (3), Luck (2), Michigan DT Mark Messner, Oklahoma State RB Terry Miller (2), Salaam, Alcorn State C Dennis Thomas and Williams.
Grigsby also became the first Redbird player to be selected to the Hall of Fame, and former Washington & Jefferson (Pennsylvania) coach John Luckhardt became the school’s first player or coach to be selected.
The three coaches — Luckhardt, Pinkel and Memphis’ Billy Jack Murphy — all had the most wins in their respective school’s history.
Luck, who was a two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up (2010, 2011) for Stanford, led the Cardinal to a 31-7 record in his career, including three straight postseason berths and consecutive top-10 final rankings in 2010 (No. 4) and 2011 (No. 7). He also was named the MVP at the 2011 Orange Bowl.
Salaam, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1994, was just the fourth player in NCAA history to run for 2,000 yards in a season. Also a unanimous first-team All-American that season, Salaam claimed the Walter Camp and Doak Walker awards in addition to the Heisman Trophy. That season, he led the nation in rushing yards (2,055), scoring (144) and all-purpose yards (2,349), while not playing in the fourth quarter in five games. Salaam led the 1994 Buffs to an 11-1 record and the No. 3 final ranking after a win over Notre Dame in the 1995 Fiesta Bowl.
The 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be inducted during the 64th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 6.
