Nick Saban and Urban Meyer are running for the College Football Hall of Fame for the first time
The ballots for the Hall of Fame class announced in January were released Monday by the National Football Foundation. It has 77 players and nine coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 101 players and 34 coaches from the divisional ranks, which include the Championship Subdivision and Divisions II and III.
Among the players appearing on the ballot for the Atlanta-based Hall for the first time is former Pitt defensive lineman Aaron Donald, who retired earlier this year after 10 NFL seasons with the Rams.
Other first-timers on the ballot include 2012 Heisman Trophy runner-up Manti Teo from Notre Dame; 2009 Heisman winner Mark Ingram from Alabama and former California wide receiver DeSean Jackson.
Saban retired earlier this year after 17 seasons as Alabama’s coach. He won six national championships with the Crimson Tide and a record seven career titles with LSU in 2003. In 28 years as a college head coach with Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and Alabama, Saban was 297-71-1.
Meyer won three national titles in his 17-season career as a college head coach, two with Florida and one in 2014 with Ohio State. He also made stops in Bowling Green and Utah. He retired from Ohio State after the 2018 season with a record of 187-32.
Players on this year’s ballot include former Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick, former Syracuse receiver Marvin Harrison and the late Sean Taylor, who played defensive back for Miami.
