http://www.tidesports.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050518/NEWS/50518005/1011
Alabama legend Bennett to be inducted into College Football Hall of Fame By Ralph D. Russo The Associated Press May 18, 2005 NEW YORK | Cornelius Bennett found out about his election into the College Football Hall of Fame about a month ago, and was asked to keep it to himself until it was formally announced. He couldn’t keep the good news totally secret. “I had to call and tell Momma and I had to tell my wife,” the former Alabama linebacker said at a news conference Wednesday. “If I didn’t tell them I wouldn’t be here today.” Bennett, Heisman Trophy winner John Huarte and Southern California tailback Anthony Davis are among the 11 players and two coaches that make up the 2005 Hall of Fame class. They will be inducted in December at an awards banquet in New York and enshrined at the hall in South Bend, Ind., next year. Also entering the Hall of Fame are Pittsburgh offensive lineman Mark May, Michigan defensive back Tom Curtis, Penn State offensive tackle Keith Dorney, Ohio State end Jim Houston, Texas fullback Roosevelt Leaks, Oklahoma running back Joe Washington, Stanford defensive lineman Paul Wiggin and Illinois wide receiver David Williams. Don Nehlen, the winningest coach in West Virginia history, and Pat Dye, who won four Southeastern Conference titles in 12 seasons at Auburn, round out the latest class. Bennett finished seventh in the Heisman balloting as a senior in 1986 and won the Lombardi Award as the nation’s top lineman or linebacker. “It’s a great honor, something that we’re really going to cherish,” said Bennett, who played in four Super Bowls with the Buffalo Bills. “I can bring my kids to South Bend and show them that Daddy was an all right football player.” Huarte won the Heisman for Notre Dame in 1964, quarterbacking the Fighting Irish to a share of the national title. Davis finished second in the Heisman voting as a senior in 1974, but his signature game came in 1972 when he scored six touchdowns against Notre Dame. May is the fourth member of the 1980 Pittsburgh team to make the college Hall of Fame, along with Dan Marino, Hugh Green and Jimbo Covert. Like Bennett, May had a long, successful pro career as part of one of the most famous offensive lines in NFL history — the Washington Redskins’ “Hogs.” “The NFL Hall of Fame would be great, but for me this is it,” May said. Nehlen was the 17th coach in Division I-A history to win 200 games and finished his career 202-128-8. During 21 seasons in Morgantown, W. Va., he won 149 games and turned the program into one that could compete with the best in the nation. Still, induction into the Hall of Fame humbled him. “I was looking for my wife’s name as a voter,” Nehlen said. “I figured she must have voted about 1,000 times.” Dye’s head coaching career started at East Carolina and he spent a year at Wyoming before coming to Auburn in 1981. He won three straight SEC titles from 1987-89, and nearly lured Bennett away from rival Alabama. “I committed to Auburn for a couple of weeks until coach (Bear) Bryant came to my house and I kind of changed my mind,” Bennett said. “Coach Dye and I always have a laugh about that.” _______________________________________________ RTF mailing list RTF@rolltidefan.net http://rolltidefan.net/mailman/listinfo/rtf_rolltidefan.net
