The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced it's 2017 Class over Super Bowl weekend, welcoming seven new members to it's fabled ranks.
RELATED: Which Colleges have Produced the Most Super Bowl-Winning Quarterbacks?
Included in the class of 2017 are kicker Morten Andersen, running back Terrell Davis, safety Kenny Easley, defensive end Jason Taylor, running back LaDainian Tomlinson, quarterback Kurt Warner, and owner, president and general manager Jerry Jones.
The 2017 Class will be formally enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, Aug. 5.
Until then, let's take a look at what these NFL stars did in their collegiate careers.
[divider]
Morten Andersen
Michigan State Athletics
Kicker, Michigan State
Andersen was a four-year kicker for the Michigan State Spartans. The NFL's all-time leader in scoring, Andersen was a fourth-round selection by the New Orleans Saints.
Andersen left Michigan State as the school's all-time leader in field goals, extra points, and total scoring. Anderson is the third Michigan State player to be named to the NFL Hall of Fame (Herb Adderley, Class of 1980; Joe DeLamielleure, Class of 2003)
Year | XPM | XP% | FGM | FG% | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1978 | 52 | 96.3 | 7 | 43.8 | 73 |
1979 | 25 | 100 | 11 | 61.1 | 58 |
1980 | 21 | 95.5 | 12 | 66.7 | 57 |
1981 | 28 | 96.6 | 15 | 75.0 | 73 |
Totals | 126 | 96.9 | 45 | 62.5 | 261 |
[divider]
Terrell Davis
Running back, Georgia
Terrell Davis began his career at Long Beach State but transferred to Georgia when the football program at Long Beach State was eliminated over budget concerns. He sat behind Garrison Hearst before getting the opportunity to start in 1993.
That season he posted 824 yards on 167 carries, scoring five touchdowns on the ground and catching three more. He battled through injuries his senior year, and was eventually a sixth-round draft pick by the Denver Broncos.
Year | Att. | Yds. | Avg. | TD |
---|---|---|---|---|
1991 | 55 | 262 | 4.8 | 2 |
1992 | 53 | 388 | 7.3 | 3 |
1993 | 167 | 824 | 4.9 | 5 |
1994 | 97 | 445 | 4.6 | 6 |
Totals | 372 | 1,919 | 5.2 | 16 |
[divider]
Kenny Easley
Safety, UCLA
A three-time consensus All-American at UCLA, Kenny Easley was a talented safety and punt returner, totaling 19 interceptions in his career. He finished his Bruin career with 394 tackles, and was known as a hard-hitter throughout his college and NFL careers.
He went on to be a first-round draft pick (No. 4 overall) by the Seattle Seahawks, and played for eight years in the NFL.
Year | Pt. Ret. | Pt. Ret. Yds. | Pt. Ret. Avg. | INT |
---|---|---|---|---|
1977 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
1978 | 7 | 41 | 5.9 | 7 |
1979 | 27 | 336 | 12.4 | 4 |
1980 | 10 | 76 | 7.6 | 2 |
Totals | 45 | 454 | 10.1 | 19 |
[divider]
Jason Taylor
Akron Athletics
Defensive end, Akron
Over his four seasons at Akron, Jason Taylor recorded 279 tackles, 21 sacks, seven fumbles recovered, and three interceptions.
A 15-year NFL pro, Taylor played 13 years with the Dolphins before spending a season each with the Washington Redskins and the New York Jets.
[divider]
LaDainian Tomlinson
Running back, TCU
After splitting time with Basil Mitchell his first two years on campus, Tomlinson became the Horned Frogs' starter and led the NCAA in yards in the 1999 and 2000 seasons.
In 1999 he set the single-game rushing record with 406 yards against UTEP. The record stood until 2014 when Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon and Oklahoma's Samaje Perine broke it in consecutive weeks. His 5,387 career rushing yards were sixth-best in NCAA history when he left school.
Tomlinson was the fifth overall selection in the 2001 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers.
Year | Att. | Yds. | Avg. | TD |
---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | 126 | 538 | 4.3 | 6 |
1998 | 144 | 717 | 5.0 | 8 |
1999 | 304 | 1,974 | 6.5 | 20 |
2000 | 369 | 2,158 | 5.8 | 22 |
Totals | 943 | 5,387 | 5.7 | 56 |
[divider]
Kurt Warner
UNI Athletics
Quarterback, Northern Iowa
To this day Warner remains ninth on the UNI record books for career pass efficiency (142.9), third in the record book for average yards per pass (9.2) and seventh for average yards per completion (16.1). Other stats from his UNI playing career are not available.
Warner was undrafted out of college and briefly spent time with the Green Bay Packers , eventually turning to Arena Football. From the Arena League, Warner eventually got his chance with the St. Louis Rams, and led the Rams to a Super Bowl in his first season.
[divider]
Jerry Jones
Jones will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as an owner/general manager, but he played college football for Arkansas on the offensive line.
With the Razorbacks, Jones was a co-captain of the 1964 National Championship football team. He was also an all-Southwest Conference offensive lineman.
Jones has been the owner of the Dallas Cowboys since 1989. One of his first hires was head coach Jimmy Johnson — a teammate of Jones' at Arkansas — who led the Cowboys to a pair of Super Bowl wins in 1992 and 1993.