The late Rashaan Salaam, the 1994 Heisman Trophy winner, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Dec. 6. He was represented at the event by his mother, Khalada.
Rashaan Salaam Inducted Into College Football Hall Of Fame
The late Rashaan Salaam, the 1994 Heisman Trophy winner and Colorado football great, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2022, on Tuesday night (Dec. 6) at the National Football Foundation’s Annual Awards Dinner.
Salaam, the 67th Heisman Trophy winner to be elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, was represented at the event by his mother, Khalada.
Salaam was just the fourth player in NCAA history to run for 2,000 yards in a season during his 1994 trophy-winning season. The San Diego native becomes the ninth Buff player to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
A unanimous First Team All-American in 1994, Salaam also claimed the Walter Camp and Doak Walker awards in addition to the Heisman Trophy. That season, the 1994 Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year led the nation in rushing yards (2,055), scoring (144) and all-purpose yards (2,349), all while not playing in the fourth quarter in five games. Salaam led the 1994 Buffs to an 11-1 record and the No. 3 final ranking after a win over Notre Dame in the 1995 Fiesta Bowl. He led Colorado to two other bowl berths, including a win in the 1993 Aloha Bowl where he was named MVP, and two other top 20 finishes in 1992 (No. 13) and 1993 (No. 16).
There has been a Heisman Trophy winner elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in three straight classes, including Salaam (2022), USC’s Carson Palmer (2021) and Nebraska’s Eric Crouch (2020). Most recently before Crouch was Michigan’s Charles Woodson in 2018 and Palmer’s USC teammate Matt Leinart in 2017.
Tuesday night’s Awards Dinner also featured nine new College Football Hall of Famers who finished in the top 10 of Heisman balloting, including a pair of runner-ups.
That list included Stanford’s two-time Heisman runner-up Andrew Luck, who finished second in 2010 and 2011 and who spoke at the banquet to represent the entering class.
Luck is not the only runner-up in the class, joined by Oklahoma State running back Terry Miller, who was finished second in the 1977 balloting a year after finishing fourth in 1976.
Other Heisman Top 10 finishers entering the College Football Hall of Fame were Florida State linebacker Marvin Jones (fourth in 1992), Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree (fifth in 2008), Georgia defensive back Champ Bailey (seventh in 1998), Oklahoma defensive back Roy Williams (seven in 2001), Toledo quarterback Chuck Ealey (eighth in 1971), Penn State linebacker LaVar Arrington (ninth in 1999) and Nebraska offensive tackle Zach Wiegert (tied for ninth in 1994).
