Troy Polamalu Elected to College Football Hall of Fame
The National Football Foundation announced the 2019 College Football Hall of Fame Class, tallying a total of 15 inductees. Of the many inductees, a familiar name stands out: Troy Polamalu.
Before Pittsburgh fell hair over heels for Polamalu, he roamed the field as a USC Trojan from 1999-2002 before being selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft. During his time at USC, Polamalu accumulated 278 tackles, 29 tackles for a loss, 6 interceptions, 4 blocked punts, and 3 touchdowns.
“I believe God named me Troy for a reason” Polamalu said to Steve Bischeff of WeAreSC.com following his announcement of retirement from football in 2015. Troy did indeed live up to his gladiator-esque name as a Trojan, earning All-American honors his senior season while earning All-Conference honors during his junior/senior seasons at USC.
Troy’s fellow 2019 class inductees include:
- TERRELL BUCKLEY – DB, Florida State (1989-91)
- RICKEY DIXON – DB, Oklahoma (1984-87)
- LONDON FLETCHER – LB, John Carroll [OH] (1995-97)
- JACOB GREEN – DL, Texas A&M (1977-79)
- TORRY HOLT – WR, North Carolina State (1995-98)
- RAGHIB “ROCKET” ISMAIL – KR/WR, Notre Dame (1988-90)
- DARREN McFADDEN – RB, Arkansas (2005-07)
- JAKE PLUMMER – QB, Arizona State (1993-96)
- JOE THOMAS – OL, Wisconsin (2003-06)
- LORENZO WHITE – RB, Michigan State (1984-87)
- PATRICK WILLIS – LB, Mississippi (2003-06)
- VINCE YOUNG – QB, Texas (2003-05)
Along with the players, two coaches were also added to the class. Dennis Erickson and Joe Taylor were announced as the two coaches to be elected along with the thirteen players.
The 2019 College Football Hall of Fame Class will officially be inducted during the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner, which will be held on December 10th later this year.
The induction serves as a great achievement and recognition for Polamalu, and will hope to add another Hall of Fame induction to his resume when he is first eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.
Read This Next
