Two Georgia Tech greats have been accorded the high honor of being named to the College Football Hall of Fame ballot. Marco Coleman and Lucius Sanford were among 176 players and 38 coaches who were nominated for induction into the next HOF class.
The list was released Monday.
For Coleman, an outside linebacker who set Tech’s all-time sacks record in three seasons, it’s his fifth time on the ballot and second year in a row. For Sanford, it’s the ninth time that his accomplishments have been put up for vote. The two were previously together on the ballot in 2013, in fact.
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Coleman played for Tech from 1989-91 and was twice selected an All-American. He was an integral member of the Yellow Jackets’ 1990 national championship team. He was a first-round pick who played 14 years in the NFL. He returned to work on his Tech degree after his playing career, commuting twice a week from his home in St. Augustine, Fla. He ultimately completed his degree work at Flagler College in Florida in 2015. He worked as a financial adviser until he was hired as an assistant defensive line coach with the Oakland Raiders, his first coaching job.
Sanford, a linebacker, was a four-year starter and a first-team All-American in 1977. His 433 tackles stood as the all-time school record for almost 15 years and is now fourth. He was named three times to the All-South Independent team. Sanford played 10 years in the NFL and is now the executive director of Tech’s letterwinners club.
Sanford and Coleman will be voted on by the more than 12,000 former members of the National Football Foundation and living Hall of Fame members, with those votes submitted to the NFF’s honors Courts, which will select the class. The courts group is made up of athletic administrators, Hall of Fame members and media.
Other nominees include Florida State’s Terrell Buckley, Nebraska’s Eric Crouch, Notre Dame’s Raghib Ismail, Miami’s Ray Lewis and Dan Morgan, USC’s Carson Palmer, Georgia’s David Pollack, Colorado’s Rashaan Salaam and Texas’ Vince Young.
The inductees will be announced Jan. 7 at the College Football Playoff Championship game. They will be inducted at the 2019 National Football Foundation award dinner in December 2019.
Tech great Calvin Johnson will be inducted this December at the 2018 National Football Foundation awards dinner in New York. He was selected in his first year in induction, the 19th former player or head coach to be honored.
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