Five Former Steelers on College Football Hall of Fame Ballot
Former Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Flozell Adams, cornerback Deon Figures, inside linebacker Levon Kirkland, wide receiver Antwaan Randle-El and quarterback Michael Vick are on the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
Adams, Kirkland and Randle El are on the ballot for the third consecutive year. Figures and Vick are new additions to the ballot. Tight end Heath Miller, who was on the ballot for the Class of 2023, has dropped off.
Adams spent the 2010 season with the Steelers after playing for the Dallas Cowboys from 1998-2009. He started in Super Bowl XLV for the Steelers in his final NFL game.
Figures, the Steelers’ first-round pick in the 1993 NFL Draft, was a consensus All-American and winner of the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back coming out of Colorado. He also won a national championship with the Buffaloes as a sophomore in 1990. Figures played four seasons with the Steelers, including an appearance in Super Bowl XXX.
Kirkland, a 1991 consensus All-American and three-time All-ACC selection, was an imposing force for the Clemson Tigers in the early 90s. Selected by Pittsburgh in the second round of the 1992 NFL Draft, Kirkland played the first nine years of his career with the Steelers. He ended his career with 1,026 total tackles, 19.5 sacks, 16 forced fumbles and eleven interceptions. Kirkland earned a pair of Pro Bowl nods and a First-Team All-Pro selection.
Before he was catching passes for the Steelers, Randle El was a First-Team All-American quarterback at Indiana. He passed for 7,469 yards and 42 touchdowns with 37 interceptions, while also rushing for 3,895 yards and 44 scores. Upon leaving Bloomington, Randle El became the first player in FBS history to pass for 6,000 yards and rush for 3,000 yards in career.
Vick spent the final season of his NFL career with the Steelers as a backup in 2015. Vick was the No. 1 overall pick by the Atlanta Falcons coming out of Virginia Tech after a decorated college career. He spent his first six NFL seasons with the Falcons, but a dogfighting conviction caused him to spend three years away from the league. He returned in 2009 with he Philadelphia Eagles and won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award in 2010.
In addition to the six players with direct Steelers ties, Craig Heyward, the father of Steelers Cam and Connor Heyward, is also on the ballot.
Two former Steelers are in the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023 after being voted in last year: wide receiver Terance Mathis and running back DeAngelo Williams. Both players came to the Steelers later in their NFL careers. Mathis, a New Mexico alum, spent four years with the New York Jets and eight with the Atlanta Falcons before joining the Steelers for 16 games in 2002 as the team’s third wide receiver.
After graduating from Memphis, Williams spent most of his career with the Carolina Panthers, but joined the Steelers in 2015 for his final two NFL seasons. He was signed to be the backup to Le’Veon Bell, but was pushed into a starting role in 2015 and responded with a 907-yard, 11-touchdown season.
There are a total of 78 former FBS players on the ballot, comprised of eligible candidates that were named a First-Team All-America choice during their playing career, played their final season of college football between 1973 and 2012 and is no longer playing professional football.
Voting will take place through the end of June. The Class of 2024 will be announced in January and will be formally inducted on Dec. 10, 2024 at the NFF awards dinner in Las Vegas.
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