Release courtesy National Football Foundation

IRVING, Texas – The University of Miami and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that they will jointly honor 2025 College Football Hall of Fame electee Darrin Smith an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments®. The Salute will take place this Sept. 6, during the Canes’ home football game against Bethune-Cookman, which will kick off at 7 p.m. on ACCNX/ESPN+.

“Darrin Smith was a relentless and fearless linebacker whose key playmaking ability helped him anchor one of the most dominant defenses in college football history”, said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “We are thrilled to honor him at Hard Rock Stadium as a member of the 2025 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class.”

The NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute program, which began with the inaugural College Football Hall of Fame Class in 1951, has become a hallowed tradition, and to this day the singular events remain the first of numerous activities in the NFF Hall of Fame experience.

During the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, each electee returns to his respective school to accept a NFF Hall of Fame plaque that will stay on permanent display at the institution. The events take place on the field during a home game, and many NFF Hall of Famers cite the experience as the ultimate capstone to their careers, providing them one more chance to take the field and be recognized in front of their home crowd.

A two-time First Team All-American (1991, 1992), Smith was a principal contributor to two national championship teams (1989, 1991), and during his four-year career, the Hurricanes compiled an outstanding 44-4 record, never finishing a season ranked lower than No. 3 nationally. Smith recorded 401 career tackles, including 10 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, and 24 pass breakups during his four years in Coral Gables. Click here for his full NFF Hall of Fame bio.

The Miami, Florida, native now becomes the 10th Miami player inducted into the Hall, joining Don Bosseler (1953-1956), Ted Hendricks (1966-1968), Vinny Testaverde (1982, 1984-86), Bennie Blades (1984-1987), Russell Maryland (1986-1990), Gino Torretta (1989-1992), Dan Morgan (1997-2000), Ed Reed (1998-2001), and Bryant McKinnie (2000-01).

NFF Hall of Fame coaches who headed the Miami (FL) program include Dennis Erickson, Andy Gustafon, Jack Harding, Jimmy Johnson, and Mark Richt.

The 2025 class includes Montee Ball (Wisconsin), Gregg Carr (Auburn), Blake Elliott (Saint John’s [MN]), Greg Eslinger (Minnesota), Terry Hanratty (Notre Dame), Graham Harrell (Texas Tech), John Henderson (Tennessee), Michael Huff (Texas), Jim Kleinsasser (North Dakota), Alex Mack (California), Terrence Metcalf (Mississippi), Haloti Ngata (Oregon), Steve Slaton (West Virginia), Darrin Smith (Miami, FL), Michael Strahan (Texas Southern), Dennis Thurman (Southern California), Michael Vick (Virginia Tech), Ryan Yarborough (Wyoming), and coaches Larry Blakeney (Troy), Larry Korver (Northwestern College [IA]), Urban Meyer (Bowling Green, Utah, Florida, Ohio State), Nick Saban (Toledo, Michigan State, LSU, Alabama).

The 2025 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class will officially be inducted during the 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 9, 2025, at Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Please click here to purchase tickets.

Including the 2025 NFF Hall of Fame Class, only 1,111 players and 237 coaches have been inducted into the NFF College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.86 million who have played or coached the game during the past 157 years. In other words, less than two one-hundredths of a percent (0.02%) of the individuals who have played/coached the game have earned this distinction.

Fidelity Investments has served as the national presenting sponsor of the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes since 2010. The salutes are one component of a multi-year initiative between the two organizations to celebrate the scholar-athlete ideal and a joint commitment to higher education. Fidelity is also the presenting sponsor of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, and it helped launch the NFF Faculty Salutes in 2011, which recognize the contributions of the faculty athletics representatives around the country.

ABOUT FIDELITY INVESTMENTS
Fidelity’s mission is to strengthen the financial well-being of our customers and deliver better outcomes for the clients and businesses we serve.  Fidelity’s strength comes from the scale of our diversified, market-leading financial services businesses that serve individuals, families, employers, wealth management firms, and institutions. With assets under administration of $16.4 trillion, including discretionary assets of $6.4 trillion as of June 30, 2025, we focus on meeting the unique needs of a broad and growing customer base. Privately held for 79 years, Fidelity employs more than 78,000 associates across the United States, Ireland, and India. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit https://www.fidelity.com/about-fidelity/our-company. 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION & COLLEGE HALL OF FAME

Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl “Red” Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing academic excellence, citizenship, and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters in 47 states, NFF programs include the criteria, selection and induction of members of the NFF College Football Hall of Fame; the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame museum in Atlanta; Future For Football; I Played; the William V. Campbell Trophy®; the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Fidelity Investments; the NFF National High School Academic Excellence Awards presented by the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation & the NFF Hatchell Cup presented by Bob’s Steak & Chop House; and a series of programs and initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include CAA Executive Search, Catapult, Delta Air Lines, Fidelity Investments, Hampshire Companies, Jostens, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, New York Athletic Club, Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, Shriners Hospitals for Children, and SideQuests. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @NFFNetwork and learn more at footballfoundation.org.