Capsules of the men being enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., on Saturday:
Players:
Troy Aikman, quarterback
Oklahoma 1984-85, UCLA, 1987-88
Led Bruins to a 20-4 record. Won Davey O’Brien award as the nation’s top QB in 1988. Finished third in Heisman voting. Completed 64.8 percent of his passes at UCLA, throwing 41 TD passes with 17 interceptions. Started first four games for national champion Oklahoma in 1985.
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Roger Brown, defensive tackle
Maryland Eastern Shore, 1956-59
Helped lead the Hawks to a 24-5-1 record during his four years, twice winning league titles. The Hawks held opponents to an average of 7.3 points a game. Was a member of the “Fearsome Foursome” with the Los Angeles Rams.
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Billy Cannon, tailback, defensive back
LSU, 1956-59
nference history. Rushed for 1,867 yards and 19 touchdowns.
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Fred Dean, defensive end
Louisiana Tech, 1971-74
Led Bulldogs to the 1973 Division II national championship and four consecutive Southland Conference titles. Louisiana Tech went 44-4 during his four seasons. Two-time conference defensive player of the year. Finished his career with 392 tackles. Won two Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers.
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Jim Dombrowski, offensive tackle
Virginia, 1982-85
All-America as a senior. Voted by ACC head coaches as league’s best blocker in 1984 and 1985. A four-year starter. Helped lead Virginia to three straight winning seasons and its first bowl berth, a 27-24 victory over Purdue in the 1984 Peach Bowl. Virginia retired his No. 73. Named to ACC’s 50th Anniversary team.
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Pat Fitzgerald, linebacker
Northwestern, 1993-96
Two-time winner of both the Chuck Bednarik and Bronco Nagurski Awards, helped lead the Wildcats to their first Rose Bowl in 47 years and back-to-back Big Ten titles. Had 299 tackles, including 20 for loss. Two-time All-America choice and two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
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Wilber Marshall, linebacker
Florida, 1980-83
3 career sacks and 343 career tackles, 210 solo. Finalist for the Lombardi Award in his junior and senior seasons.
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Rueben Mayes, running back
Washington State, 1982-85
Set 15 school records, including single-season (1,632) and career rushing yards (3,519), rushing touchdowns (23), rushing average (5.53) and 100-yard games (13). Set an NCAA record for most rushing yards in a game when he ran for 357 yards against Oregon in 1984. Twice Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year.
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Randall McDaniel, offensive guard
Arizona State, 1984-87
Two-time All-Pac-10 selection. Led the Sun Devils to three bowl berths, including Arizona State’s first trip to the Rose Bowl in 1987. Won the Morris Trophy in 1987 as the league’s top offensive lineman. Anchored a line that helped the Sun Devils to a 10-1-1 record in 1986.
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Don McPherson, quarterback
Syracuse, 1983-87
Heisman Trophy runner-up in 1987. Won the Davey O’Brien Award and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as the nation’s top quarterback and the Maxwell Award winner as the nation’s outstanding player. Led Syracuse to an 11-0-1 season as a senior.
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Sam Mills, linebacker
Montclair State, 1977-80
tate went 30-9-1 and captured two New Jersey Athletic Conference championships during his career. Died of cancer at age 45 in 2005 while an assistant coach with the Carolina Panthers.
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Jay Novacek, tight end
Wyoming, 1982-84
Holds the record for highest average gain per reception by a tight end in a single season with 22.6 yards per catch in 1984. He had 83 career receptions for 1,536 yards and 10 touchdowns. Second Wyoming player in hall, joining tailback Eddie Talboom. Placed fourth in the decathlon at the NCAA Championships his senior season.
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Dave Parks, split end
Texas Tech, 1961-63
First Red Raider to be a first-team All-America. Two-time All-Southwest Conference selection. Set nearly every school receiving record, including yards in a game (132), season reception yardage (499), career receptions (80) and career receiving yardage (1,090).
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Ron Simmons, nose guard
Florida State, 1977-80
Bobby Bowden’s first top recruit at Florida State. Led Seminoles to a No. 5 ranking in 1980, their highest finish at the time. Finalist for the Lombardi Trophy in 1980. Had 12 sacks in 1979 and finished with a career 25 sacks. Ranks second on Florida State’s all-time tackles list (483) and career tackles for loss (44).
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Rod Smith, wide receiver
Missouri Southern State, 1988, 90-93
eceptions for 3,122 yards and 34 touchdowns. Holds school records for catches in a game (13), receiving yards in a game (254), receiving yards in a season (1,439), highest average gain per reception in a season (24.0), touchdown receptions in a season (15) and longest pass reception (98 yards). A Harlon Hill finalist in 1993.
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Thurman Thomas, tailback
Oklahoma State, 1984-87
Still holds school records for career rushing (4,595 yards) and rushing attempts (898). The 293 yards he rushed for against Iowa State in 1987 is tied for the fifth best in school history. Ran for 1,613 yards as a senior, leading the Cowboys to a 10-2 record. Twice named Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year.
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Arnold Tucker, quarterback
Miami of Florida 1943, Army, 1944-46
Won Sullivan Award as the nation’s top amateur athlete in 1946. Played on national championship teams in 1944 and ’45. Went undefeated at Army, going 27-0-1 record. Passed for 1,127 yards and 10 touchdowns in three years with Army.
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Coaches:
Volney Ashford, Missouri Valley (1937-67)
Guided Missouri Valley to 41 straight wins from 1941-47. Had a career record of 197-55-12, a .769 winning percentage. Named NAIA Coach of the Year in 1959. Died in 1973.
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John Cooper, Tulsa (1977-84), Arizona State (1985-87), Ohio State (1988-2000)
Ten and a Pac-10 teams to victories in the Rose Bowl. Career record of 193-83-6. Ranks second to Woody Hayes in wins at Ohio State with 111. His 1996 and 1998 teams finished second in the final AP polls. Led 14 teams to bowl games in 24 seasons.
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Jim Donnan, Marshall (1990-95), Georgia (1996-2000)
Posted a 64-21 record in six seasons at Marshall, leading the Thundering Herd to the Division I-AA title in 1992 and to three other national championship games. Made five consecutive appearances in the Division I-AA playoffs. His 15-4 playoff record ranks second best in NCAA FCS history. Division I-AA Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1995. Was 40-19 at Georgia.
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Mary (1969-71), North Carolina State (1972-75), Arkansas (1977-83), Minnesota (1984-85), Notre Dame (1986-1996), South Carolina (1999-2004)
Led every school he coached to a bowl game by his second year. Guided Notre Dame to its last national championship in 1988 and to No. 2 finishes in 1989 and 1993. Ranks eighth all-time in number of victories by FBS coaches.