FSU great Terrell Buckley tabbed for College Football Hall of Fame
One of the greatest defensive backs in Florida State history soon will be recognized as one of the greatest players in the history of college football.
Seminole legend Terrell Buckley will be one of 13 players enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame later this year, it was announced Monday morning. Buckley, now a secondary coach at Mississippi State, becomes the ninth former Seminole selected for the College Hall of Fame.
The others were linebacker Derrick Brooks, cornerback Deion Sanders, nose guard Ron Simmons, head coach Bobby Bowden, quarterback Charlie Ward, head coach Darrell Mudra, wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff and wide receiver Ron Sellers.
The other players selected to the 2019 class are: Texas quarterback Vince Young, Notre Dame receiver Raghib Ismail, Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, Oklahoma defensive back Rickey Dixon, John Carroll linebacker London Fletcher, Texas A&M defensive lineman Jacob Green, North Carolina State receiver Torry Holt, Arizona State quarterback Jake Plummer, USC defensive back Troy Polamalu, Wisconsin offensive tackle Joe Thomas, Michigan State running back Lorenzo White and Mississippi linebacker Patrick Willis.
Dennis Erickson, who coached Miami to two national championships, and Joe Taylor, who won 233 games at historically black colleges, were selected for induction as coaches.
From an FSU press release on Buckley's selection:
Buckley authored one of the best careers in FSU history while playing cornerback from 1989-91. During his three-year career he broke nearly all of the program’s interception records and still holds records for single-season interceptions with 12 and career interceptions with 21, which is tied for 10th all-time in FBS history. His 501 career interception return yards still stand as the NCAA record, and he added seven career touchdowns with four interception return scores and three punt return touchdowns.
Buckley was a consensus All-American, won the Jim Thorpe Award and finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy vote in 1991. He also was a second-team All-American in 1990 and a two-time first-team All-South Independent selection. In recognition of his accomplishments, he was inducted into the Florida State Hall of Fame in 2003 and in 2011 his No. 27 jersey was retired.
Following his FSU career, he was taken fifth overall in the 1992 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers to start a 14-year NFL career that included 50 interceptions and a win in Super Bowl XXXVI with the New England Patriots one week after grabbing an interception in the AFC Championship Game to help secure a 24-17 victory.
Buckley will be formally inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame with the other 14 members of the class of 2019 on Dec. 10 during the 62nd National Football Foundation Annual Awards Dinner at the New York Hilton Midtown.
------------
Talk about this story with other Florida State football fans in the Tribal Council