DeVries nominated for induction into College Football Hall of Fame

Clear Lake Head Football Coach Jared DeVries has been placed on the 2021 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced the names of 78 players and seven coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 99 players and 33 coaches from the divisional ranks June 16.

DeVries was a four-year starter for the University of Iowa.  As a defensive lineman he was a 1998 consensus First Team All-American and 1997 Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year.  He is a three-time First Team All-Big Ten performer who ranks first all-time in league history with 78 career tackles for loss.  He led the Hawkeyes in sacks and TFL every year of his career.  DeVries was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft.  He played his entire professional career for the Lions.

“It’s an enormous honor to just be on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot considering more than 5.4 million people have played college football and only 1,027 players have been inducted,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell.  “The Hall’s requirement of being a First-Team All-American creates a much smaller pool of about 1,500 individuals who are even eligible. Being in today’s elite group means an individual is truly among the greatest to have ever played the game, and we look forward to announcing the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class Presented by ETT early next year.”

The ballot was emailed Tuesday to the more than 12,000 NFF members and current Hall of Famers whose votes will be tabulated and submitted to the NFF’s Honors Courts, which will deliberate and select the class. The FBS Honors Court, chaired by NFF Board Member and College Football Hall of Famer Archie Griffin from Ohio State, and the Divisional Honors Court, chaired by former Marshall head coach, longtime athletics director and NFF Board Member Jack Lengyel, include an elite and geographically diverse pool of athletic administrators, Hall of Famers and members of the media.

“Having a ballot and a voice in the selection of the College Football Hall of Fame inductees is one of the most cherished NFF member benefits,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, a 1989 Hall of Fame inductee from Mississippi. “There is no group more knowledgeable or passionate about college football than our membership, and the tradition of the ballot helps us engage them in the lofty responsibility of selecting those who have reached the pinnacle of achievement in our sport.”

The announcement of the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class Presented by ETT will be made in early 2021, with specific details to be announced in the future.

The 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class Presented by ETT will be officially inducted during the 64th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 7, 2021, at the New York Hilton Midtown. They will also be honored at their respective schools with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the 2021 season.

Of the 5.4 million individuals who have played college football since Princeton first battled Rutgers on Nov. 6, 1869, only 1,027 players have earned induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, or less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of those who have played the game during the past 150 years. From the coaching ranks, 221 individuals have achieved Hall of Fame distinction.