IRVING, Texas – Former Oklahoma national champion quarterback and Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel as well as VFL greats Willie Gault and Larry Seivers appear on the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame ballot, the National Football Foundation (NFF) announced on Monday.
Heupel, who guided the Vols to an 11-2 record and an Orange Bowl victory in 2022, is on the ballot for a fourth straight year. A 2000 consensus first-team All-American, he led the Sooners to the 2000 national championship with a win in the Orange Bowl. In two seasons, Heupel rewrote the Oklahoma record books and was the 2000 Heisman Trophy runner-up before going onto a successful coaching career.
A 1982 first-team All-American, Gault led Tennessee to three bowl berths and set six conference punt and kickoff return records. He tied the NCAA record for most kickoff return touchdowns in a single season with three in 1980. He totaled 82 catches for 1,482 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns during his career. Gault averaged an incredible 16.4 yards each time he touched the football.
Seivers was a two-time consensus first-team All-American in 1975 and 1976. In 1975, he became the first Vol to eclipse 800 receiving yards in a single season. He was also a two-time first-team All-SEC selection. In 1976, Seivers caught 51 passes for 737 yards, averaging 14.5 yards per catch. He left Tennessee with more catches than anyone (117) and most receiving yards gained (1,924).
The trio make up a ballot consisting of 78 players from the FBS level. The announcement of the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be made in early 2024 with specific details to be announced in the future.
The 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted during the 66th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 10, 2024, and permanently immortalized at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
Tennessee’s proud College Football Hall of Fame tradition includes 26 inductees—22 players and four coaches—which leads the SEC. Eric Berry will be inducted as part of the 2023 class at the 65th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 5.
-UT Athletics
