The College Football Hall of Fame has announced its 2012 class. This group is punctuated by Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer of BYU and national championship coaches Jimmy Johnson and Phillip Fulmer. They chose 14 players and 3 coaches for the class. There will be an induction ceremony on December 4th in New York.
Other players include Steve Bartkowski from Berkeley, Tommy Kramer of Rice, running backs Charles Alexander of LSU, Otis Armstrong of Purdue, wide receiver Art Monk from Syracuse, Notre Dame tight end Dave Casper, offensive linemen Jonathan Ogden of UCLA and John Wooten of Colorado, split end Hal Bedsole of Southern California, defensive tackle Gabe Rivera of Texas Tech, Kansas State linebacker Mark Simoneau and defensive backs Greg Myers of Colorado State and Scott Thomas of Air Force.
The chairman of the National Football Foundation Archie Manning said, “”We are extremely proud to announce the 2012 College Football Hall of Fame Class. Each year the selection process becomes increasingly more difficult, but Gene Corrigan and the Honors Court do an amazing job of selecting a diverse group of the most amazing players and coaches in our sport’s rich history. This class is certainly no exception, and we look forward to honoring them and celebrating their achievements throughout the year ahead.”
Coach Jimmy Johnson is a famous character. According to Fox Sports, “Johnson spent five seasons as head coach at Oklahoma State, then went on to a highly-successful five-year run at Miami-Florida. The Hurricanes were 52-9 under Johnson with five New Year’s Day bowl appearances, and his 1987 squad won the national championship with a 20-14 victory over Oklahoma in the 1988 Orange Bowl.”
Another standout of the class is Art Monk. Fox Sports says, “Monk, a Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee in 2008, was the top player in the East as a freshman in 1976 and again as a senior in 1979. He led Syracuse in receiving for three straight seasons and helped the school to its first bowl win in 13 years with a 31-7 victory over McNeese State in the 1979 Independence Bowl. A first-round pick of Washington in 1980, Monk spent 14 seasons with the Redskins, winning three Super Bowl titles, and one year with the Jets.”
