Thu May 1 13:28:26 2008

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Aikman, Holtz among college football Hall of Fame inductees

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New York, NY (Sports Network) - Troy Aikman, Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon and Lou Holtz highlight the 2008 class for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

A total of 13 players and two coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) were selected for this year's Hall of Fame class.

Joining Aikman, Cannon and Holtz for enshrinement will be Virginia offensive tackle Jim Dombrowski, Northwestern linebacker Pat Fitzgerald, Florida linebacker Wilber Marshall, Washington State running back Rueben Mayes, Arizona State guard Randall McDaniel, Syracuse quarterback Don McPherson, Wyoming tight end Jay Novacek, Texas Tech end Dave Parks, Florida State nose guard Ron Simmons, Oklahoma State running back Thurman Thomas, Army quarterback Arnold Tucker and coach John Cooper.

Aikman, already a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame after starring with the Dallas Cowboys, was a consensus First Team All-America selection with UCLA in 1988, when he also received the Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's top quarterback and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting. He was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year in 1987 and led UCLA to two bowl game victories.

Cannon, the only player in LSU history to have his number retired, won the Heisman Trophy in 1959, a year after leading LSU to a perfect season and the national championship. He was a unanimous First Team All-America choice in 1958 and a consensus All-America in 1959.

Holtz is best-remembered for leading Notre Dame to a national championship in 1988, and is the only coach to guide six different programs to bowl games. He also coached at William & Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota and South Carolina, finishing his career ranked eighth among all-time coaches with 249 wins.

Dombrowski was a unanimous First Team All-America in 1984 at Virginia and a finalist for the 1985 Lombardi Trophy.

Fitzgerald was a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time consensus First Team All-America in 1995-96, when he led Northwestern to a pair of Big Ten titles. He also won the Bronko Nagurski and Chuck Bednarik Awards as the top defensive player in the nation twice, and is currently the head coach at his alma mater.

Marshall was a three-time First Team All-SEC selection at Florida from 1980-83 and holds the school record with 58 tackles for loss. He was also a two-time consensus All-America.

Mayes, a consensus First Team All-America in 1984, was an All-Pac-10 selection in 1984 and '85 at Washington State and holds the school record with 3,519 career rushing yards. He set an NCAA single-game rushing mark -- since broken -- with 357 yards in 1984 against Oregon.

McDaniel was a First Team All-America in 1986-87 and was a consensus pick in 1987. He was named the Pac-10's top offensive lineman in 1987 and helped Arizona State to its first-ever Rose Bowl appearance and victory in '87.

McPherson won 18 Player of the Year honors at Syracuse in 1987, when he finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting. He was a First Team All- America that season, helping Syracuse to a record of 11-0-1 and a berth in the Sugar Bowl when he was named the game's MVP in a 16-16 tie with Auburn.

Novacek will enter the Hall of Fame with his Dallas Cowboys teammate in Aikman. The two proved to be a prolific tandem in the NFL, but Novacek also excelled in college at Wyoming, where he was a 1984 consensus First Team All- America. He holds the NCAA record for highest average gain per reception by a tight end in a single season with 22.6 in 1984.

Parks was named First Team All-America and played in the East-West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl in 1963. He was a two-time First Team All-Southwest Conference selection, established numerous Texas Tech receiving records and was team tri-captain in 1963.

Simmons, a consensus First Team All-America selection in 1979-80, set school records for quarterback sacks in a career with 25 and a season with 12 in 1979. He ranks second on the FSU all-time tackles list with 483.

Thomas, also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a stellar career with the Buffalo Bills, was a First Team All-America selection in 1985 and 1987, and was a consensus pick in 1985 for Oklahoma State. He was twice named Big-8 Offensive Player of the Year and finished seventh in the 1987 Heisman Trophy voting.

Tucker was selected for enshrinement by the National Football Foundation's Honors Review Committee. A member of three national championship teams from 1944-46 at Army, Tucker led the Cadets to a record of 27-0-1 during his prolific career. He quarterbacked, perhaps, the greatest backfield in the history of college football, which included Heisman Trophy winners Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis.

Cooper amassed a record of 192-84-6 during his career as coach at Tulsa, Arizona State and Ohio State. He ranks second only to the legendary Woody Hayes in all-time wins at Ohio State and led his teams to 14 bowl games in 24 seasons.

The 2008 Class will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at The National Football Foundation's Annual Awards Dinner on December 9 in New York and will be officially enshrined at the Hall in South Bend, Indiana in the summer of 2009.