Blakeney, Saban named to 2025 Hall of Fame Class

Former Auburn assistant and Troy head coach Larry Blakeney was announced as an inductee in the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame on Wednesday. (File Photo)

By TIM GAYLE

Former Auburn linebacker Gregg Carr, former Troy coach Larry Blakeney and former Alabama coach Nick Saban are among the 22 inductees in the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame announced on Wednesday.

The 18 first team All-America players and four standout coaches in the 2025 class were selected from the national ballot of 77 players and nine coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 101 players and 34 coaches from the divisional ranks.

To be selected to the College HOF, a player must be a first team All-America selection and is eligible for selection 10 years after his final year and within the last 50 years. Current professional players (or coaches) are not eligible until retirement. While a player’s accomplishments are of prime consideration, his post football record as a citizen is also weighed.   

A coach becomes eligible three full seasons after retirement or immediately following retirement provided he is at least 70 years old. 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.

The four coaches selected have 28 conference championships, with Saban (12) and Blakeney (8) leading the way. Blakeney and Northwestern College’s Larry Corver are also the winningest coaches at their schools and the first College Football Hall of Fame selection at their school.

Among the 18 players selected were Notre Dame quarterback Terry Hanratty, Tennessee defensive tackle John Henderson, Ole Miss offensive lineman Terrence Metcalf, Texas Southern defensive lineman Michael Strahan and Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick.

In addition to Saban, Blakeney and Korver, former Florida and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer was selected to the Hall of Fame.

A former Woodlawn High standout, Carr was the perfect middle linebacker for Pat Dye’s defense at Auburn, finishing as the Tigers’ leading tackler (125 tackles) in 1982, the leading tackler (136) in 1983 and the second leading tackler (139) as a senior in 1984 when he was selected as the Southeastern Conference Lineman of the Year.

He led the Tigers to their first conference championship since 1957 as a junior in 1983 and a win over Michigan in the 1984 Sugar Bowl. He was a team captain in 1984 and had a 3.22 grade point average in civil engineering. A sixth-round draft pick, he played four years with the Steelers and is currently an orthopedic surgeon in Birmingham.

Blakeney is both the winningest coach in Troy and Sun Belt Conference history and became only the second coach in history (along with Central Florida’s Gene McDowell) to guide a program from Division II to the Football Bowl Subdivision. During his 24 seasons (1991-2014), Blakeney won 61.1 percent of his games, posting a career record of 178-113-1. He led the Trojans to five bowl games, securing victories in the 2006 and 2010 New Orleans bowls and appearances in the 2004 Silicon Valley Bowl, the 2008 New Orleans Bowl and the 2010 GMAC Bowl. Prior to Troy's transition to the FBS, he guided the Trojans to seven FCS playoff appearances in eight seasons.

He was named coach of the year four times, twice in the Southland and twice in the Sun Belt. In 1993, during the program's first full year at the FCS level, he led the Trojans to a 10-0-1 regular-season record, the first undefeated regular season in school history. In 1995, his team finished 11-0 in the regular season, marking the first undefeated and untied season in program annals.

He oversaw significant renovations to Veterans Memorial Stadium and the playing surface is now named Larry Blakeney Field in his honor. He has been inducted into the Wiregrass Sports Hall of Fame, the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and the inaugural class of the Troy University Sports Hall of Fame. He was also selected as an “Alabama Legend” by the Camellia Bowl in 2019.

A former Auburn quarterback from Gordo High, Blakeney made history as the first sophomore to start at the position for legendary Hall of Fame coach Shug Jordan.

Saban’s selection had previously been released on ESPN’s College Game Day, but his legendary career includes an unprecedented seven national titles and a list of accomplishments that cements his name in the pantheon of the greatest to have ever coached the game. The Monongah, West Virginia, native now becomes the second coach from Toledo, the sixth from Michigan State, the sixth from LSU and the fifth from Alabama to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.

Over 28 seasons as a head coach, Saban compiled a 292-71-1 career record (80.4 percent), retiring as the NCAA’s active leader in wins and ranking sixth all-time among FBS coaches. With seven national championships—six at Alabama and one at LSU—Saban holds the record for the most titles in FBS history. He also holds the distinction as the first coach in history to win national crowns at two different FBS schools since the Associated Press poll’s inception in 1936. He is the only head coach in the BCS and CFP eras with multiple undefeated national championship seasons.

During his 17 seasons at Alabama (2007-23), Saban built the most dominant dynasty in modern college football, leading the Tide to nine BCS/CFP championship game appearances while winning six national titles. He compiled an overall record of 201-29 (87.4 percent) and produced 15 consecutive seasons with a No. 1 AP ranking and nine SEC titles. He led the Crimson Tide to 17 bowl appearances, posting an overall postseason record of 13-4. His 201 wins at Alabama ranks second all-time, eclipsed only by Hall of Fame coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. Combining his tenures at LSU and Alabama, he went 11-1 in SEC Championship games.

Saban's unmatched ability to develop talent resulted in 66 First Team All-Americans, including four Heisman Trophy winners, which ties him with Hall of Famer Frank Leahy for the most by any coach in history. He coached seven NFF National Scholar-Athletes, including Campbell Trophy® winners Rudy Niswanger at LSU and Barrett Jones and Jalen Milroe at Alabama. He mentored 136 NFL Draft picks at Alabama, and he holds the most first round draft picks in a career with 52.

Saban never had a losing season in 28 years as a head coach, and he claimed more than 20 coach of the year honors during his career, including the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year twice (2003 and 2008) and SEC Coach of Year five times (2003, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2020). His expansive coaching tree includes more than 35 assistant head coaches who have gone on to become head coaches in college and the NFL.

The 2025 College Football Hall of Fame class will officially be inducted during the 67th NFF annual awards dinner on Dec. 9 at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.