Former Washington Huskies Greg Lewis (1987-90) and Lincoln Kennedy (1989-92) are among 75 players from Football Bowl Subdivision schools nominated for induction into the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. The Class of 2015 will be announced Jan. 9 in Arlington, TX., site of the national championship game, and formally inducted Dec. 15 in New York City.
Lewis was a first-team All-America running back and the Doak Walker Award winner in 1990, when he finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting. Lewis ran for 2,903 career yards, including 1,407 in 1990. He produced 15 100-yard rushing games with a high of 205 against California, also in 1990.
An offensive tackle, Kennedy made unanimous, first-team All-America in 1991, when Washington shared the national championship with Miami. Kennedy helped the Huskies win three consecutive Pac-10 titles and earn three Rose Bowl berths. He twice won the Morris Trophy as the conference’s top lineman.
Lewis faces stiff competition among running backs with the list of 2015 nominees including Colorado’s Eric Bieniemy, Ohio State’s Keith Byars, SMU’s Eric Dickerson, Penn State’s D.J. Dozier, Alabama’s Bobby Humphrey, Colorado’s Rashaan Salaam and Michigan State’s Lorenzo White.
The offensive tackle nominee with the closest credentials to Kennedy’s is Michigan’s Jumbo Elliott, a two-time, first-team All-America.
An Ingraham High graduate, Lewis went to the Denver Broncos in the fifth round of the 1991 NFL draft, but injuries ended his career after two seasons. A first-round pick by Atlanta in 1993, Kennedy played 11 years in the NFL, including eight with the Oakland Raiders. He made three Pro Bowl teams (2000-02) and was a first-team All-Pro in 2002.
Three other players with Seattle connections are also on the 2015 ballot. Oklahoma’s Brian Bosworth played for the Seahawks from 1987-89, Texas A&M’s Jacob Green starred for the Seahawks from 1980-91 and is in the team’s Ring of Honor, and UCLA’s Ken Norton Jr. is Seattle’s linebackers coach.
Eleven former Washington players have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. DL Steve Emtman (1989-91) was the most recent in 2007.
According to the National Football Foundation, more than five million individuals have played college football since 1869, of which 948 are in the Hall of Fame, less than two ten-thousandths of one percent.
