Williams, Crouch headline College 2015 HOF ballot

Oct 22, 2014 - 4:44 PM Irving, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Former Heisman Trophy winners Ricky Williams, Eric Crouch and Rashaan Salaam are among 75 Football Bowl Subdivision players eligible for induction into the 2015 class of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Williams, the 1998 Heisman recipient and a two-time unanimous First-Team All- American at the University of Texas, finished his career as the FBS all-time leader with 6,279 rushing yards and set 46 school records during his four seasons with the Longhorns.

Crouch captured the 2001 Heisman as a senior quarterback at Nebraska after leading the Cornhuskers to the national title game that season. He still owns the NCAA record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 59 and led the Huskers to a record of 42-9 with four bowl berths during his career.

Salaam took home the 1994 Heisman as a junior at Colorado, leading the nation with a school-record 2,055 rushing yards while scoring 24 touchdowns that season.

A pair of Pro Football Hall of Famers, running back Eric Dickerson (SMU) and defensive lineman Warren Sapp (Miami-Florida) are also listed on the initial ballot, as are former NFL stars Ray Lewis (Miami-Florida), Jerome Brown (Miami-Florida), Keith Byars (Ohio State), Randall Cunningham (UNLV), Keyshawn Johnson (USC), Antwaan Randle El (Indiana), Zach Thomas (Texas Tech) and Andre Tippett (Iowa).

Other notable names on the ballot included Brian Bosworth (Oklahoma), Tim Couch (Kentucky), Raghib Ismail (Notre Dame) and former Arizona Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson -- an All-American wide receiver at Michigan State in 1978.

This year's ballot also contains five ex-FBS coaches: Jim Carlen, Pete Cawthon Sr., Danny Ford, Billy Jack Murphy and Darryl Rogers, as well as current Kansas State coach Bill Snyder.

The 2015 College Football Hall of Fame class will be revealed on Jan. 9, three days before the College Football Playoff national championship game in Arlington, Texas. Induction ceremonies will take place Dec. 8, 2015 in New York City.

Players must have been named a First-Team All American by a major outlet and have at least 10 years since their final collegiate game to be eligible for selection. Additionally, they must have played within the last 50 years and be retired from professional football.

Coaches with at least 10 years and 100 games of experience can be included on the ballot provided they won at least 60 percent of their games and have been retired for a minimum of three years, though active coaches over 75 years old are immediately eligible and there is no waiting period for retired coaches over 70.