AUBURN, Ala. – Former Auburn linebacker Greg Carr was among the names on the 2023 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame announced Tuesday.
The ballot includes 80 players and nine coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision ranks. This is the fourth time Carr has been on the ballot (2018, 2020, 2021, 2023).
Carr, who played for Auburn from 1981 to 1984, twice led the team in tackles and ranks second in program history with 453 career tackles. A three-time First Team All-SEC selection, he helped the Tigers capture the 1983 SEC championship and won all three bowl games he played in under head coach Pat Dye.
"When I think back about any success I have, I think back to Coach Dye, who instilled in us a confidence and a recipe for success," Carr said. "He basically gave us a blueprint - for those guys who were willing to listen - a blueprint for being able to be successful. And, it wasn't complicated. It was hard work, setting goals and working hard to achieve those goals."
In 1984, his final season on the Plains, Carr was the SEC's most decorated athlete. He was a consensus First Team All-American, the SEC's Lineman of the Year, a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete and a Lombardi Award nominee. Following that season, he was drafted in the sixth round, pick No. 160, by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1985 NFL draft. He played four seasons with the Steelers (1985-88).
Carr was later inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and represented Auburn on the 2010 SEC Legends class.
"It's an enormous honor to just be on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot considering more than 5.54 million people have played college football and only 1,056 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 2023 College Football Hall of Fame Class early next year."
The ballot was emailed Tuesday 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 athletic administrators, Hall of Famers and members of the media.
"Having a ballot and a voice in the selection of the College Football Hall of Fame inductees is one of the most cherished NFF member benefits," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, a 1989 Hall of Fame inductee from Mississippi. "There is no group more knowledgeable or passionate about college football than our membership, and the tradition of the ballot helps us engage them in the lofty responsibility of selecting those who have reached the pinnacle of achievement in our sport."
The announcement of the 2023 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be made in early 2023, with specific details to be announced in the future.
The 2023 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted during the 65th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 5, 2023, 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 2023 season.