FSU Football: Terrell Buckley on College Football Hall of Fame Ballot
By Kelvin Hunt
Former FSU football cornerback great Terrell Buckley is on the College Hall of Fame Ballot for the Class of 2017.
From Footballfoundation.org:
"The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today the names on the 2017 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, including 75 players and six coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 95 players and 29 coaches from the divisional ranks."
The ballot was mailed to over 12,000 National Football Foundation members and current Hall of Fame members. The results will be released on January 6, 2017, in Tampa, Florida.
The city will also the site of the 2017 National Championship game in which FSU football is one of the odds on favorites to participate in among all the FBS teams in college football.
The criteria to get into the College Football Hall of Fame is extensive:
"First and foremost, a player must have received First-Team All-America recognition by a selector organization that is recognized by the NCAA and utilized to comprise their consensus All-America teams."
"A player becomes eligible for consideration by the Foundation’s Honors Courts 10 full seasons after his final year of intercollegiate football played."
"While each nominee’s football achievements in college are of prime consideration, his post-football record as a citizen is also weighed. He must have proven himself worthy as a citizen, carrying the ideals of football forward into his relations with his community and his fellow man, with love of his country. Consideration may also be given for academic honors and whether or not the candidate earned a college degree."
"Players must have played their last year of intercollegiate football within the last 50 years.* For example, to be eligible for the 2017 ballot, the player must have played his last year in 1967 or thereafter. In addition, players who are playing professionally and coaches who are coaching on the professional level are not eligible until after they retire."
"A coach becomes eligible three full seasons after retirement or immediately following retirement provided he is at least 70 years of age. Active coaches become eligible at 75 years of age. He must have been a head coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage."
Terrell Buckley played with FSU football from 1989-91 and was a 1991 unanimous First Team All-American.
He also won the Thorpe Award in 1991 while leading the nation in interceptions (12) and return yards (501) during final season at FSU.
He is the FSU football all-time leader in career interceptions (21) with four interceptions and three punts four touchdowns in career.
Who could forget Buckley’s pick six interception against Michigan and the punt return for a touchdown against Syracuse?
Buckley went on to be drafted No. 5 overall in the 1992 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers and played for seven teams before his final year in 2005.
Buckley was a coach with FSU football from 2007-2011 and is now a defensive back coach with the Mississippi St. Bulldogs.
Buckley has been involved in a lot of things outside of football including the following: Make-A-Wish Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Feed the Children and Habitat For Humanity.
"The 2017 class will be inducted at the 60th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Dec. 5, 2017, at the landmark Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. The inductees will be permanently enshrined at the new College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta later that December and honored on the field during the 13th Annual National Hall of Fame Salute during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl."
Other notables on the 2017 ballot: Peyton Manning, Ray Lewis, Danny Ford, Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk, Tony Gonzalez and Torry Holt.
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Congrats on the honor Mr. Buckley as he has represented FSU football in outstanding fashion.