Tennessee football: Two of four Vols on 2023 HoF ballot should have already been in
On one hand, Tennessee football fans should celebrate. Three of their own along with their head coach make for a solid class of people on one College Football Hall-of-Fame ballot. However, on the other, it’s egregious that two aren’t already in the Hall.
Eric Berry, Willie Gault and Larry Seivers are all on the 2023 ballot, released Monday by the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame, for what they did as players with the Vols. Josh Heupel is on the ballot for what he did as a player with the Oklahoma Sooners.
All four have a case and have been on the ballot before, but for two, it’s obvious. Seivers and Berry should have already been inducted. There’s one standard that should make players an automatic lock for the Hall: being two-time All-Americans.
Both Seivers and Berry were two-time All-Americans, and they earned prestigious recognitions, so it makes no sense for them to not already be in. Seivers turned Tennessee football into Wide Receiver U before Johnny Majors, playing for the Vols from 1973 to 1976.
During that time, in a veer formation that wasn’t friendly to receivers, he 117 passes for 1,924 yards and eight touchdowns. In both 1975 and 1976, he was a First Team All-American, and he was named SEC Athlete of the Year for 1976-77.
For Berry, it’s even more obvious. He was on the ballot for the first time last year and didn’t get in. We’re talking about a guy who was a Freshman All-American, a three-time All-SEC player and then a First Team All-American in 2008 and 2009. He then won the Jim Thorpe Award in 2009. How much more must a player to accomplish?
Although it would be more for the pro level, there’s also his story of beating Hodgkin’s lymphoma to come back in the the middle of his prime. If not for playing only three years and switching to a linebacker in Monte Kiffin’s Cover-2, he would have the record for career interception return yards too. The guy belongs in the Hall.
Now, Gault was an All-American just one year. If there’s a Hall-of-Fame for college athletes in general, he belongs given his track success, but you can make a case against him football wise. His pro career and ability as a speedster are definitely things of legend, though.
Heupel was an All-American and national championship winning quarterback, but he won every award except the Heisman in 2000, so he has a strong case for reaching the Hall just on that year alone. If he doesn’t, he could always get in as a coach.
Anyway, the real story is that Tennessee football has three players on the 2023 Hall of Fame ballot plus its head coach and that two should have already gone in. While we’re at it, it’s egregious that John Henderson isn’t in either, as he was a two-time All-American who won the 2001 Outland Trophy.
Vols have a tendency to get overlooked. Peyton Manning, who is in the Hall was robbed of the 1997, and Berry was robbed of the 2008 Thorpe Award. Travis Stephens should’ve won the Doak Walker in 2001, and Dustin Colquitt should’ve won the Ray Guy Award in 2003.
Next. 10 greatest single seasons by Vols players of all time. dark
Not yet having Berry and Seivers on the list is just more evidence that the college football institutions have it out for Tennessee football. There’s no excuse for that, and it needs to change. If one is still left off after the 2023 class is revealed, the travesty will be insane.