Collins, Wisniewski on ballot for College Football Hall

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Eighteen former Penn State football players and five former Nittany Lion coaches are part of the College Football Hall of Fame and within the next seven months Kerry Collins and Steve Wisniewski will look to try and join them.

Collins and Wisniewski are both on the ballot for the 2018 College Football Hall of Fame, a group of 75 former college stars that includes first-time nominees like Charles Woodson, Calvin Johnson and Ed Reed. Former Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer and former Texas coach Mack Brown are among the six coaches on the ballot. Former USC and Pittsburgh Steelers standout Troy Polamalu and former Pittsburgh quarterback Matt Cavanaugh are also on the ballot.

The class will be enshrined Jan. 8 in Atlanta, which will serve as the site for the College Football Playoff championship game.



“It’s an enormous honor to just be on the ballot when you think that more than 5.19 million people have played college football and only 987 players have been inducted,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell said in a release. 

The most recent former Nittany Lion to join the College Football Hall of Fame was Shane Conlan, who was inducted in 2014. Prior to Conlan it was running back Curt Warner who was honored in 2010.

During Penn State's first two years in the Big Ten it was Collins who helped the Lions thrive, leading Penn State to a 22-2 record  and during his time at Penn State the Lions went 40-9 and were victorious in the Fiesta, Citrus and Rose Bowl. The 1994 consensus first-team All-America honoree finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting, two spots behind teammate Ki-Jana Carter.

Collins is still that last former Nittany Lion quarterback selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

As for Wisniewski, who was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 1989 NFL Draft, he was a three-year starter at guard for Penn State. Wisniewski was a starter on the 1986 National Championship team and paved the way for D.J. Dozier and Blair Thomas. He went on to earn eight nods to the Pro Bowl and was a captain for the Raiders for seven seasons.