One of the most prolific pass rushers in college football history is among 78 FBS players up for induction
THE FLATS – One of the most prolific pass-rushers in college football history, Georgia Tech’s Marco Coleman is one of 78 former NCAA Division I FBS student-athletes included on the ballot for induction to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2024, the National Football Foundation (NFF) announced on Monday.
Coleman was selected from a pool of hundreds of nominees to be included on the 2024 ballot. The ballot has been emailed to the more than 12,000 NFF members and current Hall of Famers, whose votes will be tabulated and submitted to the NFF's Honors Court, which will deliberate and select the class. The Honors Court, chaired by NFF Board Member and College Football Hall of Famer Archie Griffin from Ohio State, includes an elite and geographically diverse pool of athletics administrators, Hall of Famers and members of the media.
"It's an enormous honor to just be on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot when you think that more than 5.62 million people have played college football and only 1,074 players have been inducted," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "The Hall's requirement of being a first-team all-American creates a much smaller pool of about 1,500 individuals who are even eligible. Being in today's elite group means an individual is truly among the greatest to have ever played the game, and we look forward to announcing the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class early next year."
Coleman, who currently serves as Georgia Tech’s defensive line coach, was a three-year starter and two-time first-team all-ACC and all-America selection as an outside linebacker at Georgia Tech from 1989-91. He was a key member of the Yellow Jackets’ 1990 national championship squad and finished his three-year collegiate career as Tech’s all-time leader with 27.5 sacks and 50 tackles for loss (he remains fourth in school history in both categories). His 50 TFL were also the most ever by an ACC player in a three-year career at the end of his time at Tech and remain the fifth-most all-time by an ACC player that played just three collegiate seasons.
He was selected by the Miami Dolphins with the 12th overall pick in the 1992 National Football League Draft and went on to record 65.5 sacks and 520 tackles over the course of a 14-year NFL career (1992-2005) that included stints with the Dolphins, San Diego Chargers, Washington Redskins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos.
Coleman is in his second stint as a member of Georgia Tech’s coaching staff. He returned to The Flats in January after having previously served as the Yellow Jackets’ defensive ends/outside linebackers coach from 2019-21. His coaching resume also includes serving as the defensive line coach at Michigan State in 2022, as well time in the NFL with the Eagles (coaching fellow – 2017) and Oakland Raiders (assistant defensive line coach – 2018) and a season as defensive coordinator at Mandarin H.S. in Jacksonville, Fla. (2017).
The College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024 will be announced in early 2024 and will be inducted on Dec. 10, 2024 as part of the 66th NFF Honors Dinner in Las Vegas.
Sixteen former Georgia Tech student-athletes and three former Tech coaches are already inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame, which is located just one mile from Georgia Tech’s midtown Atlanta campus. Former head coach Paul Johnson will officially become the 20th Yellow Jacket enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame when he is inducted during this year’s NFF Honors dinner on Dec. 5 in Las Vegas.
