These players were among the 221 SEC players that were eligible to appear on the ballot.
To be considered for the College Football Hall of Fame today, a player must have been named a first-team All-American by one of the organizations used by the NCAA to choose its yearly consensus All-American team. Currently, these organizations include the American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, Sporting News, and the Walter Camp Football Foundation. However, the NCAA’s selectors have fluctuated throughout time, ranging from two to ten.
That’s an eligibility barrier that some of the best players in SEC history haven’t overcome. These 11 players were never named first-team All-Americans by a consensus selection, hence they are not eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame:
Georgia running back Nick Chubb
Chubb is the only top five rusher in SEC history who is not eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame. Chubb is ranked second on the list with 4,769 running yards. Georgia’s Herschel Walker ranks first with 5,259. Walker, Arkansas’ No. 3 Darren McFadden, LSU’s No. 4 Kevin Faulk, and Auburn’s No. 5 Bo Jackson are all members of the College Football Hall of Fame. Chubb was All-SEC as a freshman in 2014 and a senior in 2017, but he was never an All-American, unlike two other SEC running backs who were during Chubb’s tenure at Georgia: Alabama’s Derrick Henry and LSU’s Leonard Fournette.
Auburn Running Back Joe Cribbs
The former Sulligent High School star was named SEC Player of the Year in 1979. The College Football Hall of Fame includes the following three running backs who won the SEC Player of the Year Award after Cribbs: Georgia’s Herschel Walker, Auburn’s Bo Jackson, and Florida’s Emmitt Smith. Cribbs earned the SEC rushing championship in 1978, but LSU running back Charles Alexander was a consensus All-American that year and is now in the College Football Hall of Fame. Cribbs earned third-team All-American honors from The Associated Press in 1979. Despite becoming the SEC Player of the Year, he was not the conference’s top running back in the All-American voting. James Brooks, a teammate, was named to the Associated Press second team. Cribbs made the Pro Bowl in three of his first four NFL seasons and rushed for 1,000 yards five times in his first six years. The miss occurred in 1982, when a players’ strike reduced the NFL season to nine games. Cribbs accomplished his fourth and fifth 1,000-yard seasons with the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League.
Auburn Defensive End Kevin Greene
Greene is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and has the third-most sacks in the history of the NFL. However, he wasn’t as highly appreciated at Auburn, earning his way from walk-on to setting the Tigers’ single-season sack record in 1984. But he never made All-SEC, let alone All-American, but teammate Gregg Carr was a consensus All-American in Greene’s senior season, making the linebacker the only player with College Football Hall of Fame eligibility, and he’s on the ballot again for the Class of 2025.
Alabama’s wide receiver Julio Jones
Jones has been named a first-team All-Pro twice and a Pro Bowler seven times in the NFL. Jones may wind up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he will not be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Jones was named first-team All-SEC once and second-team twice during his three seasons at Alabama, and he finished his career as the Crimson Tide’s single-game and single-season catches and receiving yards leader. During Jones’ three seasons at Alabama, one SEC wide receiver won first-team All-American honors from a consensus selector: South Carolina’s Alshon Jeffery in 2010.
Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning
Manning’s father, Ole Miss quarterback Archie Manning, is in the College Football Hall of Fame. Peyton Manning, Eli Manning’s brother and Tennessee quarterback, is in the College Football Hall of Fame. Despite winning the 2003 Maxwell Award, which honors college football’s player of the year, Eli Manning will not be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. In 2003, each of the five organizations that determined the consensus All-American team selected Oklahoma’s Jason White as their first-team quarterback. White was not drafted and did not play in the NFL. Manning was the first player selected in the 2004 NFL Draft and retired following the 2019 season. He is one of the SEC’s six No. 1 choices who aren’t eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame, along with Georgia end Harry Babcock.
Alabama quarterback Joe Namath
After finishing behind Georgia Tech’s Billy Lothridge for All-SEC accolades in 1962 and 1963, Namath was named first-team all-conference quarterback in 1964 as Alabama went undefeated in the regular season and won the SEC championship. In 1964, the NCAA utilized six selectors to produce the consensus All-American team, and because some of them continued to pick four-player backfields rather than individual positions, six quarterbacks qualified as first-teamers for College Football Hall of Fame consideration. Namath wasn’t one of them. The quarterbacks included Oregon’s Bob Berry, Notre Dame’s John Huarte, California’s Craig Morton, Tulsa’s Jerry Rhome, Virginia Tech’s Bob Schweickert, and Michigan’s Bob Timberlake. Namath went on to become the AFL’s face with the New York Jets, earning him a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Alabama kicker, Will Reichard
Reichard, the all-time top scorer in NCAA football, departed Alabama for the Minnesota Vikings following the 2023 season. Reichard finished with 547 points, including 84 field goals and 295 extra points. During Reichard’s time with the Crimson Tide, Iowa’s Keith Duncan and Georgia’s Rodrigo Blankenship were first-team All-Americans in 2019, Miami (Fla.)’s Jose Borregales in 2020, Missouri’s Harrison Mevis, Michigan’s Jake Moody, and Bowling Green’s Nate Needham in 2021, North Carolina State’s Christopher Dunn and Stanford’s Joshua Karty in 2022, and Miami (Ohio)’s Graham Nicholson and UNLV’s Jose Pizano in 2023. Reichard was not, despite being named first-team kicker on CBS’ All-American team for the 2020 season.
Tennessee quarterback Heath Shuler
Shuler got the SEC Player of the Year Award in 1993, after finishing second in the Heisman Trophy voting. Shuler was selected third overall in the 1994 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. Shuler is the only SEC player who placed first or second in the Heisman Trophy voting who is neither a member or eligible for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. He finished second behind Florida State’s Charlie Ward in the Heisman Trophy race. The NCAA employed seven organizations to choose its consensus All-American squad, and Ward was named first-team quarterback in each of them.
Alabama quarterback Ken Stabler
Stabler was the second-best quarterback on the SEC’s 50th anniversary squad, but despite his first-team All-American status, he is ineligible for the College Football Hall of Fame. In 1967, the Football News selected Stabler an All-American quarterback. The Football News was one of the groups that compiled the consensus All-American teams in 1943 and 1944, and again from 1993 to 2001. However, it was not one of the six consensus choices in 1967. Stabler was named second-team All-American quarterback by two of the consensus selectors, the Central Press Association and the Newspaper Enterprise Association, trailing UCLA Heisman Trophy winner Gary Beban. Beban is in the College Football Hall of Fame. Stabler is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford
After guiding Georgia to three bowl victories, Stafford went for the NFL as the first choice in the 2009 NFL Draft. He is still playing. Stafford helped the Los Angeles Rams win Super Bowl LVI in 2021 and was named to the Pro Bowl the previous year. Stafford is one of seven SEC players who have never been selected as a consensus first-team All-American. Vanderbilt quarterback Bill Wade, the top pick in 1952, Georgia end Harry Babock, 1953, Tulane running back Tommy Mason, 1961, Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning, 2004, LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell, 2007, and Georgia defensive end Travon Walker, 2002, are the other SEC first-round picks who cannot be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Alabama center Dwight Stephenson
Stephenson was the All-SEC center in 1977, 1978, and 1979. Alabama did not lost a single conference game throughout those years. Stephenson earned the SEC’s Jacobs Blocking Trophy as a senior, and he was the second-team center on the AP and UPI All-American teams, trailing North Carolina State’s Jim Ritcher in both instances. Stephenson cannot be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, although Ritcher is. Stephenson, on the other hand, has been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his time with the Miami Dolphins.
