INDIANAPOLIS — Colorado Heisman Trophy running back Rashaan Salaam, Oklahoma State running back Terry Miller, Oklahoma defensive back Roy Williams, Florida State linebacker Marvin Jones and former Toledo and Missouri coach Gary Pinkel were named to the College Football Hall of Fame’s 2022 class, sources told The Action Network.
The entire 2022 Hall of Fame class is expected to be announced in the next few days. The average class size is usually between 13 and 16 individuals. On Thursday, Penn State linebacker LaVar Arrington announced he had made the 2022 class.
There were 177 players and 40 coaches nominated for the 2022 class — 78 players and seven coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision level and the remainder from the smaller college divisions.
Salaam, the 1994 Heisman Trophy winner, died in 2016 at the age of 42. According to the Boulder (Colo.) County Coroner’s Office, Salaam committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. Salaam’s brother, Jabali Alaji, later told USA Today that Salaam had “all the symptoms” associated with CTE.
In Salaam’s final season at Colorado in 1994, he led the nation in rushing (2,055 yards), scoring (24 touchdowns) and all-purpose yards (2,349 yards) as the Buffaloes were Big 8 Conference runners-up and finished No. 3 in the final 1994 AP Poll.
Like Salaam, Miller and Williams also starred in the Big 8/Big 12.
Miller was a two-time first-team All-American at Oklahoma State and Heisman Trophy finalist.
In 1976, Miller led the Cowboys to a share of the Big 8 Championship, the first in school history, and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting.
In 1977, Miller was the Heisman Trophy runner-up to Texas’ Earl Campbell. Miller finished his career as the fourth-leading rusher in NCAA history (4,754 yards) and was a two-time Big 8 Offensive Player of the Year.
Miller also is the only Cowboy running back with three 1,000-yard rushing seasons, something neither College Football Hall of Famers Thurman Thomas nor Barry Sanders accomplished.
Williams was a key defender on Oklahoma’s 2000 national title team but was best known for his “Superman play” against Texas in 2001.
With 2:03 remaining and Oklahoma leading, 7-3, Texas was at its own 3-yard line when quarterback Chris Simms dropped back to pass. Williams blitzed from his safety position, split UT’s left guard and left tackle, and then launched over a running back, knocking the ball from Simms into Teddy Lehman’s hands for the game-clinching two-yard interception return for a touchdown.
OU finished that season with a school-record 13 victories and a BCS National Championship.
In 2001, Williams won the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, Jim Thorpe and Bronko Nagurski awards and finished his career in the Big 12’s all-time top-10 in pass deflections (44).
Jones was a two-time first-team All-American for Florida State in 1991 and 1992. He won the Butkus and Lombardi awards in 1992 and was named the Sporting News Defensive Player of the Year. In three seasons, Jones led the Seminoles to a 32-5 record and three consecutive top-four finishes in the final AP Poll.
Pinkel made the Hall of Fame as the winningest coach at both Toledo and Missouri, making a combined 11 bowls at both schools.
At Toledo from 1991-2000, Pinkel went 73-37-3 and led the Rockets to the 1995 MAC title. At Missouri from 2001-15, Pinkel was 118-73.
In 2007, Pinkel guided the Tigers to the school’s first No. 1 ranking in 47 years and was named Big 12 Coach of the Year. When Missouri moved to the SEC, Pinkel guided the Tigers to consecutive SEC East titles in 2013 and 2014. Pinkel also led Missouri to the school’s only 12-win seasons in 2007 and 2013.
After the 2015 season, Pinkel retired after announcing he had non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In 2019, he said he was receiving new treatment when his cancer came out of remission for the first time in four years. He said his type of cancer will never be healed and he continues to fight it.
Arrington, also a two-time first-team All-American for Penn State in 1998 and 1999, won the Butkus and Bednarik awards in 1999. He finished ninth in the Heisman Trophy voting his final season. In 1998, Arrington became the first sophomore to be named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
On Dec. 6, the Class of 2022 will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame at the 64th annual National Football Foundation Awards Dinner.
The awards ceremony was held annually for the first 61 years in New York City until it moved to Las Vegas last month for the 2020 and 2021 induction ceremonies because of COVID-19 issues in New York.
Full College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2022
Players
- LaVar Arrington — LB, Penn State (1998-99)
- Champ Bailey — DB, Georgia (1996-98)
- Michael Crabtree — WR, Texas Tech (2007-08)
- Sylvester Croom — C, Alabama (1972-74)
- Mike Doss — S, Ohio State (1999-2002)
- Chuck Ealey — QB, Toledo (1969-71)
- Kevin Faulk — AP/RB, LSU (1995-98)
- Moe Gardner — DT, Illinois (1987-90)
- Boomer Grigsby — LB, Illinois State (2001-04)
- Mike Hass — WR, Oregon State (2002-05)
- Marvin Jones — LB, Florida State (1990-92)
- Andrew Luck — QB, Stanford (2009-11)
- Mark Messner — DT, Michigan (1985-88)
- Terry Miller — RB, Oklahoma State (1974-77)
- Rashaan Salaam — RB, Colorado (1992-94)
- Dennis Thomas — C, Alcorn State (1971-73)
- Zach Wiegert — OT, Nebraska (1991-94)
- Roy Williams — DB, Oklahoma (2000-01)
Coaches
- John Luckhardt — 225-70-2 (76.1%); Washington & Jefferson [PA] (1982-98),
- California [PA] (2002-11)
- Billy Jack Murphy — 91-44-1 (67.3%); Memphis (1958-71)
- Gary Pinkel — 191-110-3 (63.3%); Toledo (1991-2000); Missouri (2001-15)
