IF YOU GO
What: College Football Hall of Fame dedication gala and enshrinement ceremony
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (reception from 5-7 p.m.)
Where: 250 Marietta Street in downtown Atlanta, near Centennial Olympic Park
Tickets: $250 apiece through www.cfbhall.com/events. Includes open bar, heavy hors d'oeuvres, commemorative program and voucher for a future visit to the Hall of Fame.
TV: The ceremony will be streamed online live by ESPN3 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. A taped, edited version will be televised on ESPNU at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Note: The College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience will be closed to the public Tuesday until the event.
ENSHRINEMENT CLASS
The 14 former players and coaches who will be enshrined Tuesday night in the College Football Hall of Fame:
Ted Brown, RB, North Carolina State, 1975-78
Tedy Bruschi, DE, Arizona, 1992-95
Ron Dayne, RB, Wisconsin, 1996-99
Tommie Frazier, QB, Nebraska, 1992-95
Jerry Gray, DB, Texas, 1981-84
Steve Meilinger, E, Kentucky, 1951-53
Orlando Pace, OT, Ohio State, 1994-96
Rod Shoate, LB, Oklahoma, 1972-74
Percy Snow, LB, Michigan State, 1986-89
Vinny Testaverde, QB, Miami (Fla.), 1982, 1984-86
Don Trull, QB, Baylor, 1961-63
Danny Wuerffel, QB, Florida, 1993-96
Wayne Hardin, coach, Navy (1959-64) and Temple (1970-82)
Bill McCartney, coach, Colorado, 1982-94
Fourteen new members will be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame at a ceremony tonight, and most of them gathered this morning at the downtown Atlanta attraction for a press conference.
There was no shortage of nostalgia.
Former Wisconsin running back and 1999 Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne, who rushed for 7,125 yards in his career, still the major-college record, recalled that the Badgers were the only school that recruited him primarily to run the ball.
“When I was coming out of (high school) … everybody else around the country that was recruiting me wanted me to play fullback or linebacker or something,” Dayne said. “Coach (Barry Alvarez of Wisconsin) said, ‘You … can be my running back.’ He got me right over that.”
Former Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier, who led the Cornhuskers to back-to-back national championships in 1994-95, naturally was asked about the legendary 75-yard touchdown run on which he broke seven tackles in a Fiesta Bowl rout of Florida for the ‘95 title.
“I think I’ve been asked about it more than I’ve seen it,” Frazier said of the famous play. “I told my son that I don’t want to watch it until I start forgetting things. I can remember it like it was yesterday. But everytime I go somewhere, people ask about that run.”
Former Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel, who won the 1996 Heisman Trophy and led his team to four SEC championships, reminisced fondly about the improbable way in which the Gators won the school’s first national championship in ‘96.
“We lost to Florida State in the regular season, which puts you out for the most part, but a lot of strange things happened in college football, including Texas beating Nebraska,” Wuerffel said. “The way that unfolded was unbelievable — to get another shot at Florida State (in the Sugar Bowl) and to win the national championship.”
Former Kentucky end Steve Meilinger, who finished his college career in 1953 and is being enshrined in the Hall of Fame 61 years later, pointed out that he played for “three of the greatest coaches who ever lived”: Bear Bryant at Kentucky and Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry in the NFL.
“There aren’t too many people that can say that,” Meilinger said.
Return to ajc.com and myajc.com for more coverage of College Football Hall of Fame ceremonies later today.
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