Urban Meyer joins Nick Saban in College Football HOF's Class of 2025; Vick, Strahan also elected

 

[January 16, 2025]  By ERIC OLSON

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.

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 over 28 seasons at Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and Alabama. His seven national championships — one at LSU, six at Alabama — are most by a Football Bowl Subdivision coach.

Meyer was 187-32 with three national championships over 17 seasons at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State. He won 22 of 24 games at Utah before taking over at Florida, where he won national titles in 2006 and 2008. He moved to Ohio State in 2012, won his third national championship in 2014 and went 83-9 over seven seasons.

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.

Terry Hanratty, 24-4-2 as Ara Parseghian's quarterback at Notre Dame from 1966-68, also was selected. He helped lead the 1966 team to a share of the national championship and joins teammates Jim Lynch, Alan Page and Joe Theismann in the Hall of Fame.

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer watches from the sidelines during the second half of the Big Ten Conference championship NCAA college football game against Wisconsin Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

Among other picks was Wisconsin's Montee Ball, who 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.

Other players in the 2025 class are 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). Blakeney guided the Trojans from Division II to the FBS from 1991-2014 and remains the Sun Belt Conference's coaching wins leader with a 178-113-1 record. Korver was 212-77-6 with two NAIA championships in 28 years (1967-94) at Northwestern.

The 2025 class will be inducted Dec. 9 during an awards dinner in Las Vegas. The Hall of Fame is in Atlanta.

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