Texas Tech football's Byron Hanspard, Graham Harrell on College HOF ballot
Three former Texas Tech football players and three former Red Raiders coaches are on the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame that was released Monday by the National Football Foundation.
Quarterback Graham Harrell, running back Byron Hanspard and quarterback Randy Page are up for consideration, as are coaches Pete Cawthon, Jim Carlen and Tommy Tuberville. All six have been on the ballot previously.
The ballot includes 77 players and nine coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 101 players and 34 coaches from lower divisions.
"It's an enormous honor to just be on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot considering more than 5.7 million people have played college football and only 1,093 players have been inducted," NFF president and CEO Steve Hatchell said in the announcement. "The Hall's requirement of being a first-team all-American creates a much smaller pool of about 1,500 individuals who are even eligible. Being in today's elite group means an individual is truly among the greatest to have ever played the game."
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Hanspard was a unanimous all-America selection and the Doak Walker Award winner in 1996. He holds the school rushing-yardage records for a single season (2,084 in 1996) and a career (4,219 from 1994-96).
Harrell finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting in 2008. He holds seven NCAA records, and his passing-yardage total of 15,793 ranks second in Big 12 history.
Page led Texas Tech in kickoff-return and punt-return yardage in 1978 and redshirted in 1979 before transferring. He led Central Oklahoma to an NAIA national championship in 1982 and was a first-team all-American in 1983.
Cawthon coached Tech from 1930-40, going 76-32-6. His .693 winning percentage is the highest in the program's history. His teams had three one-loss seasons and two two-loss seasons.
Carlen coached Tech from 1970-74, going 37-20-2 and being named Southwest Conference coach of the year three times. The highlight was an 11-1 season in 1973 with a Gator Bowl victory over Tennessee. Carlen also coached West Virginia (1966-69) and South Carolina (1975-81) and had a career record of 107-69-6.
Tuberville coached Tech from 2010-12, going 20-17. He also coached Mississippi (1995-98), Auburn (1999-2008) and Cincinnati (2013-16) and has a career record of 159-99. His 2004 Auburn team went 13-0, and Tuberville was named national coach of the year.
The class will be announced early next year and inducted on Dec. 9, 2025, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football's Byron Hanspard, Graham Harrell on College HOF ballot
