South Carolina Football: Former head coach on the College Football Hall of Fame Ballot

The College Football Hall of Fame has released its 2024 Hall of Fame nominees. The 12000+ National Football Foundation voters will have until the end of the month to vote for which candidates they believe are deserving of enshrinement. The results of the voting will be announced in December, and the induction ceremony will be held sometime in 2024.

In the history of college football’s 5.5+ million plus participants, less than 1100 players and less than 300 coaches have been elected as College Football Hall of Famers. Nominations are submitted by collegiate athletic departments and vetted by District Screening Committess prior to the names being presented to the NFF. In order to be eligible for enshrinement:

• A player must have received at least one First-Team All-American selection from an NCAA-recognized publication.
• A player must be at least 10 years removed from intercollegiate activities.
• A player must have been active as a college football player within the last 50 years; older players were voted in during the early years of the Hall of Fame.
• A player must not be an active professional football player.
• A player must be a worthy citizen and human being; some players have been excluded due to this “character clause,” but no players have been removed from the Hall of Fame after induction.
• A coach must have been a head coach for at least 10 seasons and at least 100 games; the coach’s winning percentage must be over .600 or 60%.
• A coach must be at least 3 years removed from intercollegiate coaching; if over 70, a coach becomes immediately eligible after retirement, and if over 75, a coach is eligible even if still actively coaching in college football.
• A coach must not be an active professional football coach.
• A coach must be a worthy citizen and human being; some coaches have been excluded due to this “character clause,” but no coaches have been removed from the Hall of Fame after induction.

The 2024 ballot includes 78 FBS players, 101 players from lower levels, and 41 total coaches.

Former South Carolina football head coach Jim Carlen is one of nine FBS coaches to be nominated for induction to the College Football Hall of Fame. While deserving of being nominated, Carlen is not likely to be elected.

Carlen spent 16 seasons as the head coach at West Virginia, Texas Tech, and South Carolina, putting up just 3 losing seasons (one at each school). Despite spending most of his coaching career leading Independent football programs, Carlen won a conference championship at West Virginia. He also was the head coach of Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers at South Carolina.

South Carolina football has had just two players inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Heisman Trophy-winning running back George Rogers was elected in 1997, and wide receiver Sterling Sharpe was chosen as a Hall of Famer in 2014.

Former South Carolina head coaches Lou Holtz (2008) and Steve Spurrier (2017) are also enshrined in the Hall; Spurrier also was elected as a player for the Florida Gators (1986) and is one of four individuals to be inducted as both a player and a coach along with Bobby Dodd, Amos Alonzo Stagg, and Bowden Wyatt.

Outside of a surprise induction for Carlen, the most likely South Carolina Gamecocks to have a real chance at election include several players who played for Spurrier while he coached in Columbia. Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney will likely be inducted someday, but he is still active in the NFL. Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery likely will also receive a nomination at some point in the future.

Other eligible Gamecocks who realistically could be nominated for Hall of Fame consideration include: defensive lineman Melvin Ingram (still active in NFL), cornerback Stephon Gilmore (still active in NFL), guard AJ Cann (still active in NFL), defensive tackle Andrew Provence, guard Del Wilkes, outside linebacker/defensive end Kalimba Edwards, and cornerback Sheldon Brown.