We’re a day away from the Pro Football Hall of Fame revealing its 2016 class of inductees, and there’s been plenty said about a group that includes Brett Favre, Ken Stabler, Terrell Davis, Terrell Owens and other finalists as the hours click down to Saturday night.
And that’s when there will be even more said.
But Buzz was wondering about college ties for the big names this year and noticed something else — many of the candidates come from big schools with a number of Hall of Famers already enshrined. That got Buzz thinking about which schools have the most players in Canton — and whether this year’s class might shake things up in the record book.
The no-brainer of this year’s class is Brett Favre, who played collegiate ball at Southern Mississippi, which also produced Hall of Famer Ray Guy. That’s it, so the school is not a power when it comes to producing Hall of Famers. After Favre, though, there aren’t any ironclad guarantees for Canton among the list of finalists — 15 modern-era, two senior and one contributor.
Most of them have some type of collegiate cardboard available — but there’s not much between all the past licensed college card-makers from the past (Press Pass, Upper Deck, etc.) or school-issued releases. Perhaps there will be more to come as Panini America continues to focus on college lines with greats mixed in with prospects.
Here’s a rundown of the schools for this year’s finalists:
Ken Stabler, QB — Alabama (senior finalist)
Steve Atwater, S — Arkansas
Kevin Greene, LB/DE — Auburn
Terrell Davis, RB — Georgia
Joe Jacoby, T — Louisville
Alan Faneca, G — LSU
Edgerrin James, RB — Miami
Morten Andersen, K — Michigan State
Tony Dungy, coach — Minnesota
Kurt Warner, QB — Northern Iowa
Edward DeBartolo Jr., owner — Notre Dame (contributor finalist)
Orlando Pace, T — Ohio State
Dick Stanfel, G — San Francisco (senior finalist)
Brett Favre, QB — Southern Miss
John Lynch, FS — Stanford
Marvin Harrison, WR — Syracuse
Terrell Owens, WR — Tennessee-Chattanooga
Don Coryell, coach — Washington
Now, how about the schools that have produced the most players already in the Hall? The top 10: Notre Dame (12), Southern California (12), Ohio State (nine), Michigan (eight), Pittsburgh (eight), Alabama (seven), Syracuse (seven), Illinois (six), Miami (six) Minnesota (six).
Among those schools, the former 49ers owner DeBartolo, Pace, Stabler, Harrison, James and Dungy could help update but not basically not re-order the top 10. If any of the others were to be elected, their school would not enter the top 10. If Warner or Owens are enshrined, they will be the first Hall of Famers for their schools.
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