Georgia was well represented when 108 modern-era NFL players were nominated for potential induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on a list released Tuesday, and former University of Georgia defensive lineman Richard Seymour and Tucker native Jeff Saturday are eligible for the first time.
Here’s a look at those with connections to the Peach State:
Former Falcons
OL Bill Fralic – The second overall pick of the 1985 draft out of Pittsburgh, Fralic was an immediate starter at guard and later became a stalwart tackle. He was twice tabbed first team All-Pro, and four times earned Pro Bowl honors while being named to the NFL's All-1980s team. He spent the last year of his career with the Lions, having been one of the first NFL players to depart his team via free agency. A dominant run blocker.
OL Chris Hinton – After beginning his football career with the Colts, who made him the fourth overall pick of the 1983 draft out of Northwestern, Hinton was traded to the Falcons in 1990 for the first pick of the draft, which the Colts used to select Illinois quarterback Jeff George, who eventually played for the Falcons. Atlanta also pulled in wide receiver Andre Rison in that trade. Hinton was a seven-time Pro Bowler, a three-time All-Pro, and played mostly right tackle. An excellent pass protector.
OL Mike Kenn – He started a franchise-record 251 games in a 17-year career with Atlanta after the team drafted him 13th overall in 1978 out of Michigan. Kenn is tall (6-feet-6) and lean for his line of work (he weight about 284 max). A meticulous technician, he was first-team All-Pro three times and earned five Pro Bowl honors on mostly bad teams. Kenn was notorious as a left tackle for not giving up sacks, very rarely being penalized, and remarkable durability. The former chairman of the Fulton County Commission is incredibly smart.
DL Bryant Young (Falcons coach) – The seventh overall pick of the 1994 season, Young played his entire 14-year career with the 49ers, winning a Super Bowl ring right away as he was named NFL Rookie of the Year. He scored four three first-team All-Pro honors and went to four Pro Bowls, mostly as a tackle. The former Notre Dame star is now the defensive line coach with the Falcons, and was named to the NFL's All-1990s team. Had a whopping 89.5 career sacks despite suffering a horrible broken leg in the 1998 season. That set him up to be the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year in 1999, when he had 11 sacks. Almost impossible to block.
LB Cornelius Bennett – Arguably the centerpiece of the defense that helped carry the Falcons to the Super Bowl after the 1998 season, Bennett was long considered one of the NFL's top outside linebackers. He was drafted No. 2 overall by the Colts in 1986 out of Alabama, but when he couldn't agree to terms with the team he was traded to the Bills in a three-way exchange that sent running back Eric Dickerson from the Rams to the Colts. After spending 1996-'98 with the Falcons, he spent two seasons with the Colts and retired with the third-most fumble recoveries (27) in NFL history. A vicious player.
LB Clay Matthews – A three-time first-team All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler, Matthews spent the last three seasons of his 19-year career with the Falcons after first playing for the Browns, who drafted him 12th overall in 1978 out of the USC. Incredibly durable, he left the NFL as the league's third-leading tackler with 1,561 stops. Matthews was with Atlanta in 1994-'96, and had 6.5 sacks in his final season. He is the father of Packers linebacker Clay Matthews III, the son of former NFL player Clay Matthews, the brother of Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, and the uncle of Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews. A stalwart.
LB Darryl Talley – Played just one season with Atlanta, in 1995, and that was not a good year. But he never missed a game in 12 seasons with the Bills, going to four Super Bowls with Buffalo, where he was noted for his athleticism and had an enthusiastic fan section that called itself, "The Talley Whackers." The Bills drafted the Cleveland native in the second round in 1983 out of West Virginia, and he was especially versatile, and considered an above-average run stopper, pass rusher and coverage 'backer. Played several years alongside Bennett, and finished his career with the Vikings in 1996. A jack of all trades.
Coach/player Dan Reeves – Born in Rome, Ga., he grew up in Americus, and starred in football as a quarterback and in baseball as an outfielder at the University of South Carolina before joining the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 1965. Reeves played mostly running back in Dallas, where he totaled 1,990 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns, 1,693 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns, and 370 passing yards and two touchdowns through the 1972 season. He was a player-coach his final three seasons, and joined the staff full-time in Dallas after retiring as a player. Became the Broncos' head coach in 1981, and guided Denver to three Super Bowls before coaching the Giants from 1993-'96 and the Falcons from '97 into the 2003 season, when quarterback Michael Vick broke his leg in the preseason. Led Atlanta to its first Super Bowl following the '98 season despite missing the final two regular season games after undergoing quadruple heart bypass surgery. Had a record of 201-174-2 as an NFL head coach. Supremely smart and well respected.
Former University of Georgia players
DL Richard Seymour – After the Patriots made him the sixth overall pick of the 2001 draft out of Georgia, he played eight seasons and won three Super Bowls with New England before being traded to the Raiders and playing four more seasons. The 6-foot-6, 315-pound Seymour, who is from Gadsden, S.C., played end and tackle, sprinkled in spot duty at linebacker early in his career, and even played occasionally at fullback for the Patriots. A seven-time Pro Bowler, he was first-team All-Pro three times, and named to the Patriots' 50th Anniversary team and the NFL's 2000s All-Decade team. He had 57.5 career sacks. One of the best UGA defenders ever.
WR Hines Ward (Forest Park High) – Drafted in the third round by the Steelers in 1998 from Georgia, where he played wide receiver, running back and quarterback, Ward went on to play 14 seasons with Pittsburgh and retired as the franchise leader in receptions (1,000), receiving yards (12,083) and receiving touchdowns (85). The four-time Pro Bowler won two Super Bowls, and was named MVP of the game after catching five passes for 123 yards and a touchdown in the Steelers' 21-10 victory over the Seahawks following the 2005 season. One of the finest blocking wide receivers of all time. This is his second year of eligibility. He could do it all.
C Ray Donaldson (East Rome High) – Drafted in the second round by the Baltimore Colts in 1980, he became a starter in his second season and even as a center remained on the punt coverage team for a while for sake of his athleticism. A six-time Pro Bowler, he played in 244 games with the Colts (13 seasons), Seahawks (two) and Cowboys (two), starting 228. Won a Super Bowl ring after the '95 season with Dallas, although he missed the final four regular-season games and the postseason with a broken ankle. A human blockade.
RB Herschel Walker (Johnson County High, Wrightsville) – Probably the greatest player ever to come out of the University of Georgia, which he left after winning the Heisman Trophy in his junior season with the Bulldogs. Walker bypassed the NFL to join the New Jersey Generals of the upstart USFL in 1983. Following three supremely productive seasons before the league went under, he joined the Dallas Cowboys and later played for the Vikings, Eagles, Giants and Dallas again. Walker had 8,225 rushing yards in 13 NFL seasons, scored 61 rushing touchdowns, and added 4,859 receiving yards and another 21 scores on 512 receptions while also stacking up 5,084 kickoff returns yards and two more touchdowns. That doesn't count his three-year USFL totals of 5,562 rushing yards, 54 rushing touchdowns, 130 receptions, 1,484 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. An incredible athlete.
Georgia connections
C Jeff Saturday (Shamrock High School, Tucker, Ga.) – Undrafted out of the University of North Carolina, Saturday joined the Ravens as a free agent in 1998 but was cut and went to work in an electrical supply store in Raleigh before the Colts signed him in 1999. He played in 11 games as a rookie, starting twice, mostly as a guard. In 2000, he became the Colts' starting center for the next 12 seasons before playing one year for the Packers. Considered too short by many major college coaches and NFL scouts, the 6-2, 292-pound Saturday was a six-time Pro Bowler and earned first team All-Pro honors twice. He was second team time in addition to winning a Super Bowl ring with Indianapolis. A superb technician.
WR Sterling Sharpe (Glennville High School) – Drafted seventh overall by the Packers in 1988 out of South Carolina, Sharpe started every one of his 112 games with Green Bay before a neck injury cut his career short. He retired after seven seasons having been named a Pro Bowler five times and first-team All-Pro on three occasions. He led the NFL in receptions in 1989 (90), '92 (108) and '93 (112), led the league in receiving yards in '92 (1,461), and led the league in receiving touchdowns in '92 (13) and '94 (18). His career totals were 595 receptions, 8,134 yards and 65 touchdowns. His catch totals of 108 and 112 were NFL single-season records at the time. Sharpe's brother, former Broncos and Ravens tight end Shannon Sharpe, is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Impossible to cover.
RB Earnest Byner (Baldwin High School, Milledgeville, Ga.) – He became popular with the Browns after being drafted in the 10th round out of East Carolina in 1984, but achieved his greatest success with the Redskins. The 5-10, 215-pound running back spent five seasons with Cleveland, rushing for 1,002 yards as a sophomore. After being traded to Washington before the '89 season, he had his two best seasons in '90 and '91, rushing for 1,219 and 1,048 yards, respectively, to earn Pro Bowl honors each time. He also won two Super Bowls with the Redskins before spending two more seasons with the Browns and two with the Ravens. In 14 NFL seasons, Byner rushed for 8,261 yards and 56 touchdowns. Sadly, most people remember him first for a fumble in the 1987 AFC Championship Game, where the Browns lost to the Broncos. A plugger all the way.
OL Willie Anderson – Selected 10th overall by the Bengals in 1996 out of Auburn, Anderson was a four-time Pro Bowl tackle for Cincinnati, and three times earned first team All-Pro honors. Born in Mobile, Ala., he spent 12 seasons with the Bengals, often pairing with Hall of Fame tackle Tony Munoz on the other side. Anderson played in all 16 games in 10 of his 13 NFL seasons, starting 184 games and playing in 195. His 13th season was spent with the Ravens, and he opted to retire with two years left on his contract because he said he wanted to spend more time with his son. That son, Jair Hawkins-Anderson, is now a redshirt freshman wide receiver at Georgia Tech.
OL Kevin Mawae – Born in Savannah, Ga., near where his father was stationed in the military, Mawae went on to play tackle, guard, center and deep snapper at LSU before he was drafted in the second round in 1994 by the Seahawks. In a 16-year career with Seattle, the Jets and the Titans, he was tabbed first-team All-Pro seven times and second team once. His first two NFL seasons were spent at guard, and the last 16 at center. In total, the 6-4, 289-pound Mawae played in 241 NFL games, starting the last 238. He played in all 16 games in 14 of his 18 NFL seasons. An iron horse.
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