Three Canes on College Football Hall of Fame Ballot
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Three University of Miami football legends have their names on the 2019 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation (NFF) announced Monday.
Linebacker greats Ray Lewis and Dan Morgan, along with former head coach Dennis Erickson, are among the 76 players and six coaches from FBS included on the ballot.
Lewis earned All-BIG EAST recognition in 1994 and 1995, compiling one of the most dominant careers by a linebacker ever at The U. Lewis, who ranks sixth all-time in career tackles at Miami with 388, has the two most prolific seasons in history to his name, having recorded 160 total tackles in 1995 and 152 in 1994. A two-time Super Bowl champion and 13-time NFL Pro Bowler, Lewis was drafted in the first round by Baltimore in 1995 and played all 17 seasons with the Ravens, compiling over 2,000 career tackles.
Miami’s leading tackler in three of his four seasons, Morgan was named 2000 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and set the Miami standard with 532 career tackles over a sparkling career. Morgan became the first player in college football history to sweep the three major defensive awards (Butkus Award, Bednarik Award, Nagurski Trophy) and was a unanimous first-team All-American in his final year. He was selected in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft by Carolina and was a 2004 Pro Bowl selection.
The only coach to win two national titles at Miami (1989, 1991), Erickson has a career winning percentage at Miami (.875) that still ranks as the best all-time. Erickson guided Miami to a 63-9 record in six seasons at the helm in Coral Gables, and was a three-time BIG EAST Coach of the Year selection. Erickson, who also spent time as head coach at Idaho, Wyoming, Washington State, Oregon State and Arizona State, compiled a career coaching record of 179-96-1.
Miami has eight players and 11 overall representatives in the College Football Hall of Fame: Bennie Blades (Class of 2006), Don Bosseler (1990), Andy Gustafson (1985), Jack Harding (1980), Ted Hendricks (1987), Jimmy Johnson (2012), Russell Maryland (2011), Ed Reed (2018), Vinny Testaverde (2013), Gino Torretta (2009) and Arnold Tucker (2008).
The announcement of the 2019 Class will be made Monday, Jan. 7, 2019, in Santa Clara, Calif. The city is serving as the host for the CFP National Championship, which will be played later that day at Levi’s Stadium. Some of the electees will be on site during the announcement to represent the class and share their thoughts on being elected. The Jan. 7 announcement will be televised live, and specific viewing information will be available as the date draws near. Several of the electees will also participate in the pregame festivities and the coin toss before the championship game.
The 2019 class will officially be inducted during the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 10, 2019, at the New York Hilton Midtown. The inductees will be permanently enshrined at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta later that December and honored on the field during the 15th Annual National Hall of Fame Salute during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. They will also be honored at their respective schools with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the 2019 season.
