Mark Richt, Paul Johnson selected to College Football Hall of Fame
Mark Richt and Paul Johnson are among the coaches included in the College Football Hall of Fame class of 2023, the National Football Foundation announced Monday.
"We are extremely proud to announce the 2023 College Football Hall of Fame Class," said NFF Chairman and Hall of Famer Archie Manning. "Each of these men has established himself among the absolute best to have ever played or coached the game, and we look forward to immortalizing their incredible accomplishments."
Richt joins the Hall with a 171-64 record over 18 seasons as a head coach.
Richt 145-51 from 2001-15 with nine 10-win seasons and seven AP Top 10 finishes. His 2002 team went 13-1, won the SEC East, won the Sugar Bowl and finished No. 3 in the country. In 2007, Georgia went 11-2, won the Sugar Bowl and ranked No. 2. The 2012 team was a completed pass away from playing Notre Dame for the BCS National Championship.
From 2016-18 at Miami, his alma mater, Richt went 26-13 with an ACC Coastal championship and an Orange Bowl appearance.
Richt's coaching career began in 1985 with stops at Florida State and East Carolina. He was the quarterbacks coach on FSU's 1993 national championship team and the offensive coordinator on the 'Noles' wire-to-wire No. 1 squad.
He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2021 and continues working for ACC Network.
One of the masters of the triple option offense, Johnson went 189-99 as the head coach at Georgia Southern, Navy, and Georgia Tech from 1997-2018.
Johnson led Georgia Southern to FCS national championship in 1999-00, and four straight semifinal appearances from 1998-01.
That success led Johnson to Navy where, after a 2-10 debut, Johnson ripped off a string of five straight winning seasons that lasted another three seasons after his departure.
Johnson took the Georgia Tech job in 2008, and in 2009 led the Yellow Jackets to an ACC championship. The Jackets played in bowl games in nine of his 11 seasons, going 82-61 overall.
Two additional coaches were elected to the Hall of Monday: Roy Kramer, who went 82-32-2 at Central Michigan from 1967-77 before becoming one of the most influential figures in college football history as the commissioner of the SEC from 1999-02; and Monte Carter, who compiled a 275-117-2 mark at Lakeland (WI) and Shepherd (WV) from 1981-2017.
The four coaches included in the 2023 class tallied the following accomplishments:
- 28 conference championships (Cater – 19, Johnson – 5, Kramer – 2, Richt – 2)
- 1 coach with the most wins in school history (Cater – Shepherd [WV])
- 50 bowl/postseason appearances (Cater – 13, Johnson – 18, Kramer – 1, Richt – 18)
- 3 national championships (Johnson – 2, Kramer – 1)
- 51 First Team All-Americans coached (Cater – 24, Johnson – 11, Kramer – 1, Richt – 15)
- 3 national coaches of the year (Johnson, Kramer, Richt)
- 21 conference coach of the year honors (Cater – 13, Johnson – 5, Richt – 3)
- 2 schools with their first-ever Hall of Fame coach or player inductee (Lakeland [WI] – Cater; Shepherd [WV] – Cater)
The players class includes Heisman Trophy winners Reggie Bush and Tim Tebow.
- Eric Berry – DB, Tennessee (2007-09)
- Michael Bishop – QB, Kansas State (1997-98)
- Reggie Bush – RB, Southern California (2003-05)
- Dwight Freeney – DE, Syracuse (1998-2001)
- Robert Gallery – OT, Iowa (2000-03)
- LaMichael James – RB, Oregon (2009-11)
- Derrick Johnson – LB, Texas (2001-04)
- Bill Kollar – DT, Montana State (1971-73)
- Luke Kuechly – LB, Boston College (2009-11)
- Jeremy Maclin – WR/KR, Missouri (2007-08)
- Terance Mathis – WR, New Mexico (1985-87, 1989)
- Bryant McKinnie – OT, Miami [FL] (2000-01)
- Corey Moore – DL, Virginia Tech (1997-99)
- Michael Stonebreaker – LB, Notre Dame (1986, 1988, 1990)
- Tim Tebow – QB, Florida (2006-09)
- Troy Vincent – DB, Wisconsin (1988-91)
- Brian Westbrook – RB, Villanova (1997-98, 2000-01)
- DeAngelo Williams – RB, Memphis (2002-05)
The 2023 class will be inducted on Dec. 5 at the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
