Glennville native Sterling Sharpe was among those recently selected for induction in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Sharpe was among the 2014 class of 14 All-Americans and two coaches from college football who will be inducted during the National Football Foundation’s annual awards dinner Dec. 9 in New York City.
The inductees were selected from a national ballot of 75 All-Americans and six coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and the 87 players and 26 coaches from the divisional ranks.
Sharpe played at the University of South Carolina in 1983 and from 1985-87. A first-team All-America selection in 1987, Sharpe set school records for single-season receptions (74), career receptions (169), single-season receiving yards (1,106) and career receiving yards (2,497).
He caught at least one reception in a record 34 consecutive games and notched 10 games of 100-plus yards receiving. Sharpe holds the school record for the longest play of any kind, a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Duke in 1985. His number was retired by the school.
The seventh-overall selection by the Green Bay Packers in the 1988 NFL Draft, Sharpe played seven seasons for the Packers, was a five-time Pro Bowl and All-Pro selection and led the league in receiving three times.
Sharpe currently serves as a studio analyst for the NFL Network.
The inductees also will be honored at the National Hall of Fame Salute at the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2015, in New Orleans and will be recognized at their respective collegiate institutions with on-campus salutes during the fall.
Their accomplishments will be immortalized in the new $66.5 million College Football Hall of Fame, currently under construction in Atlanta and scheduled to open in August.
2014 class
Players
• Dre Bly — DB, North Carolina (1996-98)
• Tony Boselli — OT, Southern California (1991-94)
• Dave Butz — DT, Purdue (1970-72)
• Shane Conlan — LB, Penn State (1983-86)
• Joe Hamilton — QB, Georgia Tech (1996-99)
• John Huard — LB, Maine (1964-66)
• Darrin Nelson — HB, Stanford (1977-78, 1980-81)
• Willie Roaf — OL, Louisiana Tech (1989-92)
• John Sciarra — QB, UCLA (1972-75)
• Sterling Sharpe — WR, South Carolina (1983, 1985-87)
• Leonard Smith — CB, McNeese State (1979-82)
• Derrick Thomas (deceased) — LB, Alabama (1985-88)
• LaDainian Tomlinson — TB, TCU (1997-00)
• Wesley Walls — TE, Mississippi (1985-88)
Coaches
• Mike Bellotti — 137-80-2 career record at Chico (Calif.) State (1984-88) and Oregon (1995-08)
• Jerry Moore — 242-135-2 at North Texas (1979-80), Texas Tech (1981-85) and Appalachian State (1989-2012)