Peppers Named To College Football Hall Of Fame

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Carolina football legend Julius Peppers will be inducted into the National Football Foundation (NFF) College Football Hall of Fame, the NFF announced on Monday.

Peppers will be the 10th representative of Carolina and the seventh player to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He joins players Harris Barton, Dre' Bly, William Fuller, Charlie Justice, Don McCauley and Art Weiner, and coaches Mack Brown, Carl Snavely and Jim Tatum.

"It's an enormous honor to just be on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot considering 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."

Peppers played in Chapel Hill from 1999-2001 becoming one of the most disruptive defensive players the sport has ever seen. A unanimous first-team All-America in 2001, he won the Chuck Bednarik Award for the nation's top defensive player and the Rotary Lombardi Award, which at the time was given to the nation's top interior lineman. He finished 10th in the Heisman Trophy balloting, was a finalist for the Nagurski Trophy and was honored as Chevrolet's Defensive Player of the Year.

"Julius Peppers is no doubt one of the greatest to play football at Carolina, and we are pleased that he will now officially be added to the list of college football's all-time greats," said UNC Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham. "His dedication to his sport at every level and his generosity in giving back epitomize what a Hall of Famer should be, and we congratulate him for this much-deserved honor."

A first-team All-ACC selection in both 2000 and '01, Peppers finished his career with 177 tackles, 30.5 sacks, 53 tackles for loss, five INTs and five forced fumbles. He went on to be drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the first round of the NFL Draft. During his professional career, Peppers earned nine Pro Bowl selections, three first-team All-Pro honors, three second-team All-Pro recognitions and was named to the NFL's All-Decade team for the 2000s. Peppers is currently a finalist for the 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction class.

"Julius Peppers is one of the greatest players to ever play the game of football at both the professional and collegiate level, so it's no surprise to me that he would eventually be a member of the College Football Hall of Fame," Brown said. "We're so proud of Julius for all that he's accomplished and for the way he represents himself, his family and the University of North Carolina. He's an extremely deserving addition to this prestigious list of all-time great college football players."

Peppers has also been extremely generous philanthropically, having donated to the UNC General Alumni Association's Light on the Hill Society Scholarship fund on two separate occasions. He was also the Panther's 2018 NFL Man of the Year nominee.

The 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted during the 66th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 10, and permanently immortalized at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. They will also be honored at their respective schools with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the 2024 season.

The criteria for Hall of Fame consideration include:

First and foremost, a player must have received first-team All-America recognition by a selector that is recognized by the NCAA and utilized to comprise its 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. Consideration may also be given for academic honors and whether 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 2024 ballot, the player must have played his last year in 1974 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 football coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage.
Nominations may only be submitted by the current athletics director, head coach or sports information director (SID) of a candidate's collegiate institution. Nominations may also be submitted by the president/executive director of a dues-paying chapter of the National Football Foundation.

For up-to-date information on Carolina football, visit GoHeels.com/Football and follow us on Twitter (@UNCFootball), Instagram (@uncfootball) and Facebook (Facebook.com/TarHeelFootball).

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