MTSU leads Tennessee schools with four nominees for the 2020 College Football Hall of Fame

The 2020 College Football Hall of Fame ballot was released Monday and it includes six players and two coaches from the State of Tennessee. Three former Vols, one Memphis Tiger, and four MTSU nominees.

For The University of Tennessee, there were three Vols on the ballot and they are former defensive back Bobby Majors, wide receiver Larry Seivers and linebacker Al Wilson.

Majors was a first-team All-American in 1971 and a two-time first-team All-SEC player. His ten interceptions in 1971 still stands as the most in a single season for both Tennessee and the SEC. Majors was also a dominant special teams player, totaling 1,163 punt return yards at Tennessee. Seivers was another dominant player in the 70s for the Vols at the wide receiver position. He was a two-time first-team All-SEC selection and ranked eighth in Tennessee history in career receiving yards with 1,924. Wilson led the Vols on their 1998 national championship run along with four AP top-10 seasons while at Tennessee.

For Memphis, former head coach Billy Jack Murphy is the only one on the 2020 ballot. Murphy was the Tigers coach from 1958-71 and is still the winningest coach in Memphis history. He was named the National Coach of the Year in 1963 and led Memphis to its first bowl game. Murphy might be the most underrated and overdue hall of fame selection on this list.

Middle Tennessee State University had the most nominees coming from Tennessee with four. Former running back Joe Campbell, safety Don Griffin, offensive lineman Steve McAdoo and coach Charles Murphy. Campbell was a three-time all-conference selection and was named the OVC Player of the Year in 1990. He led MTSU in rushing all four of his seasons in Murfreesboro and was a two-time All-American in 1990 and 1991. Griffin was a first-team All-American in 1985 and a three-time first-team all-conference selection. Griffin finished his career with more than 200 tackles and held the school record for interceptions in a game with three.

Steve McAdoo was a two-time All-American lineman for the Blue Raiders and earned third-team All-American honors by the AP in 1990. McAdoo spent seven years coaching at MTSU and Tennessee Tech. Now he is a coach in the Canadian Football League. Murphy was a coach at MTSU from 1947-68 and led MTSU to 14 conference championships. He was also named the Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 1965. Murphy might be the most decorated coach in MTSU history and is honored on campus with MTSU’s basketball arena named after him.

Former Vanderbilt athletic director Roy Kramer has also found himself on the ballot. He also spent some time as the Central Michigan head coach and the SEC Commissioner. Kramer coached Central Michigan from 1967-77 and won a Division II national championship in 1974. He also coached 38 first-team all-conference selections.

The 2020 ballot includes 76 players and five coaches from the FBS. The inductees will be announced in January before the National Championship game in New Orleans.