Urban Meyer will join Nick Saban in the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame class, and Michael Vick and Michael Strahan are among the former players who will be inducted.
Also on the list is former Bronco running back Montee Ball, who while at Wisconsin won the 2012 Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best running back. The year before he tied Barry Sanders’ NCAA record of 39 total touchdowns in a season.
He finished his career with 5,140 rushing yards, averaging 104.9 per game, and 77 rushing touchdowns.
He was selected by the Denver in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft and played two seasons for the Broncos.
The National Football Foundation announced Saban’s selection last week and the rest of the 18-player, four-coach class on Wednesday.
Saban retired last year as the NCAA’s active leader in wins with 292-71-1 and seven national championships over 28 seasons at Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and Alabama.
Meyer was 187-32 with three national championships over 17 seasons at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State.
Vick was the consummate dual-threat quarterback in his two seasons at Virginia Tech, where he led the Hokies to a 22-2 record and the 1999 national championship game.
His 13-year NFL career was interrupted by his 2007 conviction for his involvement in a dogfighting ring. He pleaded guilty and served 21 months in federal prison before resuming his career in 2009.
Last month he was hired as Norfolk State’s head coach.
Strahan, now co-host on ABC’s Good Morning America and a FOX NFL Sunday analyst, was a terror as a defensive lineman for Texas Southern from 1989-92. He recorded 41.5 sacks in four seasons before he went on to play 15 seasons for the New York Giants.
He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
Other players in the 2025 class are Terry Hanratty of Notre Dame, Gregg Carr of Auburn, Blake Elliott of Saint John’s (Minnesota), Greg Eslinger of Minnesota, Graham Harrell of Texas Tech, John Henderson of Tennessee, Michael Huff of Texas, Jim Kleinsasser of North Dakota, Alex Mack of California, Terrence Metcalf of Mississippi, Haloti Ngata of Oregon, Steve Slaton of West Virginia, Darrin Smith of Miami, Dennis Thurman of Southern California and Ryan Yarborough of Wyoming.
Other coaches in the class are Larry Blakeney of Troy and Larry “Bub” Korver of Northwestern College (Iowa).
QB WHO LEFT UNLV GOING TO JAMES MADISON>> Quarterback Matthew Sluka, who created a national conversation about the ramifications of name, image and likeness after departing UNLV, has transferred to James Madison.
Sluka announced after starting the Rebels’ first three games this season that he was leaving because he said the program didn’t follow through on a $100,000 NIL payment that was promised upon transferring from Holy Cross. He preserved his final season of eligibility because he didn’t play in four games.
UNLV and its collective, Friends of UNILV, pushed back on Sluka’s assertion.