It was a long wait for Richard Dent, an Atlanta native and most valuable player of Super Bowl XX while playing with the Chicago Bears.
But after consideration from the Pro Football Hall of Fame's board of selectors nine times (seven of the past eight as a finalist), the defensive end from old Murphy High was selected for induction.
Dent, 50, terrorized NFL quarterbacks for 15 seasons after being drafted by the Bears in the eighth round (203rd overall) in the 1983 draft out of Tennessee State. He also played with San Francisco (1994), Indianapolis (1996) and Philadelphia (1997).
He finished with 137 1/2 sacks over 150 starts and had an additional 10 1/2 sacks in the playoffs. He was third on the career sacks list when he retired and forced 33 fumbles and had eight interceptions.
Dent, who's likely to pick former Tennessee State coach Joe Gilliam Sr. as his presenter, will be inducted Aug. 6.
He shared candid thoughts about his pending induction, gave a tribute to his high school coach William Lester and did his Super Bowl shuffle rap for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Q: Did you ever think you'd get in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
A: I never thought I'd never get in. I just didn't understand the process. When you look across the Hall of Fame and how one is being judged, I was just not sure on the [criteria]. Is it a popularity contest? Or is all about winning championships? Is it about Pro Bowls or what? When I looked at my career, my career speaks for itself. I came from the bottom and rose to the top. When you're in the top two or top three in every category at your position, what else can you do? You can never take a star out of the sky. It can be cloudy, but the star will always be there.
Q: What was it like growing up in Atlanta and playing at Murphy High?
A: It was unbelievable you know. I have to give so much thanks to William Lester, the head coach. ... My family moved from East Lake. We moved out toward Decatur. William Lester gave me a ride to and from home. Either him or his wife. They went way over and above what they needed to do to get me back and forth to school at Murphy. I owe so much to him. ... When I spoke at his funeral, I told the people that I'm going to make sure that everybody knows that William Lester was key in sending me away to college. ... I owe him, his wife and his family, so much.
Q: How did you end up at Tennessee State?
A: I made all-state [in football] and all-city in basketball. I had an opportunity in basketball to go to Alcorn State. I had so many friends going to Tennessee State, and when you're a young man you are easily influenced. I grew up watching Claude Humphrey, Tommy Nobis and Hank Aaron. Then I found out that Claude Humphrey went to Tennessee State, and I learned about their serious tradition.
Q: Can you elaborate on the story about how the Bears found that fixing your teeth and gums was key to you being able to retain weight?
A: I had some crazy wisdom teeth that got pulled. ... But my teeth problems, it was wisdom teeth, front teeth, all of my teeth. I ate so much candy as a kid that I kind of abused myself. But it was nice of them to get things fixed up for me. That was a very educational moment for me.
Q: What was your relationship with Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan?
A: My relationship with Buddy Ryan was better than it was with [coach Mike] Ditka. I appreciated how he went about things. He talked to me. He didn't go to the media with it. Ditka didn't do that. He'd talk to the media, and then the media would come talk to me. But I can appreciate Ryan being able to teach the players the game. He wanted you to be responsible for making plays out there. He wouldn't let you go out there until you showed him that you were responsible.
Q: What was your role in the Super Bowl shuffle video?
A: Well, I was the Sack Man. [Then he went into his rap flow.] 'Sack Man is coming. I'm you're man Dent. If the quarterback is slow, he's going to get bent.' That was my line, and that was my thing.
Q: Was the video misunderstood?
A: Yeah. We didn't do it to throw it in people's faces. We were just an outspoken group. We didn't know that it was going to take off and blow all up like it did. We were just kind of having fun. It had got so late in the season, and we still have five or six games to go when we decided to do it. We were on a mission, so it really didn't matter what we did and didn't do. We were about taking care of business.
Q: Who is going to be your presenter in Canton?
A: If God allows Coach John Gilliam Sr. to stay here. ... Coach Lester would have been considered and my daughter, Mary. Coming from Tennessee State, and this is the 100th-year anniversary coming up. So many people have helped to pave the way to allow me to be successful. Coach Gilliam has been there and sent over 140 and 150 guys to the pros. Claude Humphrey is one of them. Too Tall Jones was another. You couldn't tell me 10 or 20 years back that I would be the first guy elected to the Hall of Fame out of Tennessee State. I find that unbelievable. ... He did a great job. That history needs to be told. It will more than likely be Joe Gilliam Sr.
Q: What are you doing today?
A: I got into scholarships with Columbia College (through his Make A Dent Foundation). The school matches my money. ... We help kids get to school and to finish school. Now, I'm getting ready to have my foundation do job-training and community-outreach programs. We also want to do some work on energy conservation and smart technology. We want to set up strategic programs with companies like AT&T and teach people more about what 3G and 4G is all about. There are going to be a lot of opportunities to help people understand all of this new and emerging technology.
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