FILE – Ohio State coach Urban Meyer (left) and Alabama coach Nick Saban laugh during a press conference at the Marriott Downtown Convention Center in New Orleans, Dec. 31, 2014. Saban and Meyer are aiming to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. first time. (AP Photo/Bryn Anderson, File)
Urban Meyer will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2025, along with Nick Saban, and Michael Vick and Michael Strahan are among the former players to be inducted.
The National Soccer Foundation announced Saban’s selection last week and announced the rest of the class of 18 players and four coaches on Wednesday.
Saban retired last year as the NCAA’s active leader with a 292-71-1 record in 28 seasons at Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and Alabama. Most of his seven national championships (one at LSU, six at Alabama) came as coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Meyer won three national championships and compiled a 187-32 record over 17 seasons at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State. He won 22 of 24 games at the University of Utah and then took over at the University of Florida, where he won national titles in 2006 and 2008. He transferred to Ohio State in 2012 and won his third national championship in 2014, compiling an 83-9 record in seven seasons.
Vick was a complete two-way quarterback during his two seasons at Virginia Tech, leading the Hokies to a 22-2 record and winning the 1999 National Championship Game. His 13-year NFL career was interrupted by a 2007 conviction for involvement in a dog fighting ring. He pleaded guilty, served 21 months in federal prison, and resumed his career in 2009. Last month, he was hired as the head coach at Norfolk State University.
Strahan, currently a co-host on ABC’s Good Morning America and a FOX NFL Sunday analyst, was a feared defensive lineman for Texas Southern from 1989 to 1992. He had 41.5 sacks in four seasons before playing 15 seasons with the New York Giants. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
Also selected was Terry Hanratty, who had a 24-4-2 record as quarterback for Ara Parseghian at Notre Dame from 1966 to 1968. He led the 1966 team to a share of the national championship and was inducted into the Hall of Fame along with teammates Jim Lynch, Alan Page, and Joe Theisman.
Among the other players selected was Wisconsin’s Montee Ball, who won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best running back in 2012. The year before, he tied Barry Sanders’ NCAA record for most touchdowns in a season with 39. He finished his career with 5,140 rushing yards, an average of 104.9 yards per game, and 77 rushing touchdowns.
Other players in the 2025 class are Auburn’s Greg Carr, St. John’s (Minn.) Blake Elliott, Minnesota’s Greg Esslinger, Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell, Tennessee’s John Henderson and Texas’ Michael Hough, North Dakota’s Jim Kleinsasser and Alex Mack. Terrence Metcalf of California, Haloti Ngata of Mississippi State, Steve Slaton of West Virginia, Darin Smith of Miami, Dennis Thurman of Southern California and Ryan Yarborough of Wyoming.
Other coaches in the class are Larry Blakeney and Larry of Troy; “Bub” Mr. Kober of Northwestern University (Iowa). Blakeney led the Trojans from Division II to the FBS from 1991 to 2014 and remains the Sun Belt Conference’s coaching wins leader with a 178-113-1 record. Korver went 212-77-6 at Northwestern University, winning two NAIA championships in 28 years (1967-94).
The Class of 2025 will be inducted into the Hall of Fame during an awards dinner on Dec. 9 in Las Vegas. The Hall of Fame is located in Atlanta.
