College Football

Urban Meyer, Michael Vick, Michael Strahan highlight 2025 college football HOF class

Updated Jan. 15, 2025 5:03 p.m. ET

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The College Football Hall of Fame welcomes a new class of coaches and players to its storied ranks. The 2025 inductees include three-time national championship-winning coach Urban Meyer, 1999 first-team All-American and Big East Offensive Player of the Year Michael Vick, and 1992 first-team All-American and Division I-AA Defensive Player of the Year Michael Strahan, all of whom are members of the FOX Sports family.

They join Nick Saban, who won seven national titles as a coach and was the first member of the class to officially be announced.

Meyer started his head-coaching career at Bowling Green in 2001, before moving on to Utah in 2003. His most prominent jobs came at his next two stops: Florida (2005-10) and Ohio State (2012-08). Meyer won two BCS national championships with the Gators before stepping down. 

The Ohio native then returned to coaching in 2012 to fulfill a childhood dream and lead the Buckeyes. During the 2014 season, Ohio State claimed the first ever College Football Playoff national championship.

Meyer finished his career with a 187-32 record, the third-highest winning percentage (85.4%) in FBS history. He was also 27-3 in rivalry games, including a 7-0 record against Michigan while at Ohio State and a 5-1 record against Florida State with the Gators.  

Vick, who was recently named the head coach of Norfolk State, dazzled as a dual-threat quarterback at Virginia Tech. In his first season as a starter in 1999, the redshirt freshman finished third in the Heisman voting and was named a first-team All-American after posting 1,840 passing yards and 585 rushing yards. He also led the Hokies to an undefeated regular season and a national championship game appearance that year with his playmaking abilities.

After another dynamic season at Virginia Tech, Vick declared for the draft. He was selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the No. 1 pick in the 2001 NFL Draft.

Strahan starred at Texas Southern from 1989-1992 where he was named the 1992 Black College Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time SWAC Defensive Player of the Year. Strahan finished his career as the program's all-time leader in career sacks (41.5), while also setting the single-season record (19).

After putting together a dominant collegiate career, Strahan was selected in the second round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. He spent his entire 15-year NFL career with the Giants, where he was a four-time All-Pro, the 2001 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and a Super Bowl champion in 2007.

The other players who were elected to the 2025 class include:

• Montee Ball, who was a two-time consensus first-team All-American at Wisconsin and the 2012 Doak Walker Award winner.
• Gregg Carr, who was a consensus first-team All-American at Auburn in 1984 and a three-time first-team All-SEC selection and 1984 SEC Lineman of the Year.
• Blake Elliott, a two-time first-team All-American and winner of the 2003 Gagliardi Trophy who led Saint John's (MN) to the 2003 DIII national title and owns 29 school records.
• Greg Eslinger, the first-ever Minnesota player to be named first-team All-Big Ten in three straight seasons (2003-05) and the winner of the Outland Trophy and Rimington Trophy in 2005.
• Terry Hanratty, a former Notre Dame quarterback who earned consensus All-American honors during his time with the Fighting Irish in 1968.
• Graham Harrell, a 2008 first-team All-American who finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting and holds multiple NCAA passing records, including career 400-yard games (20).
• John Henderson, a fierce defensive tackle who was a two-time consensus first-team All-American at Tennessee and the winner of the 2000 Outland Trophy.
• Michael Huff, the defensive MVP of the 2005 BCS National Championship who was a 2005 unanimous first-team All-American and the winner of the Thorpe Award.
• Jim Kleinsasser, a standout tight end who was a two-time first-team All-American (1997, 1998) at North Dakota, while also earning Honorable Mention All-America honors in 1996.
• Alex Mack, one of the most dominant centers in recent memory, starred at Cal where he was named a 2007 first-team All-American and a finalist for the Rimington Trophy and two-time Morris Trophy winner as the Pac-10's top lineman.
• Terrence Metcalf, a 2001 consensus first-team All-American offensive lineman and two-time first-team All-SEC performer during his time at Ole Miss.
• Haloti Ngata, a 2005 consensus first-team All-American and first player in Oregon football history to be named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year (2005).
• Steve Slaton, an electric playmaker for West Virginia who posted three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and finished as the program's all-time leader in total TDs (55) en route to being named a 2006 unanimous first-team All-American.
• Darrin Smith, a tenacious linebacker who was a two-time first-team All-American and helped the Canes win two national championships (1989, 1991).
• Dennis Thurman, a two-time first-team All-American who led USC to four consecutive postseason wins, including the 1974 national championship.
• Ryan Yarborough, a wide receiver who was a two-time first-team All-America selection in 1992 and 1993 and broke numerous NCAA receiving records, including most career receiving yards and most career 200-plus yard receiving games.

Other coaches in the class are Larry Blakeney of Troy and Larry "Bub" Korver of Northwestern College (Iowa). Blakeney guided the Trojans from Division II to the FBS from 1991-2014 and remains the Sun Belt Conference's coaching wins leader with a 178-113-1 record. Korver was 212-77-6 with two NAIA championships in 28 years (1967-94) at Northwestern.

The 2025 class will be inducted Dec. 9 during an awards dinner in Las Vegas.

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