The view of "Stripe the Stadium" as the Spartans warm up before the game Notre Dame on Sept. 23, 2017 at Spartan Stadium. The Spartans fell to the Fighting Irish, 38-18.
—Three former MSU All-American football players and one coach have been listed on the ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2019.
Former offensive tackle Flozell Adams, offensive tackle Tony Mandarich and running back Lorenzo White, along with previous Spartan head coach Darryl Rogers, will be considered for the recognition.
The National Football Foundation, or NFF, released the 2019 ballot to over 12,000 of its members Monday. Votes from members will be collected and counted, then revealed on Jan. 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. Santa Clara is the host city for the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship that is to be played at Levi's Stadium later that day.
Only 997 of 5.2 million college football players own the distinction of being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. On the coaches' side, there have been 217 inductees.
To be featured on the ballot, players must have been named first-team All-American once in their career. They also must have played their last collegiate football game 10 years prior, but played within the past 50 years. They also can't be currently playing football professionally.
Coaches must have coached for at least 10 years and 100 games as head coach and won at least 60 percent of their games. They also must be retired from coaching for at least the past 3 years.
Below are biographies of candidates who represented MSU in the past.
Flozell Adams, offensive tackle
The three-year starter from Illinois earned first-team All-America honors as a senior in 1997. Adams was also named recipient of MSU's President's Award that same year. He was drafted in the second round by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1998 NFL Draft and played for a total of 13 seasons and 198 career games in the NFL.
Tony Mandarich, offensive tackle
The two-time first-team All-American and four-year starting left tackle from 1985 to 1988 is the only Spartan -- and just one of five Big Ten players in NCAA history -- to be named Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year twice (in 1987 and again in 1988).
Mandarich started 44 career games with the Spartans. He went on to be drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 1989 NFL Draft. He spent six seasons in the NFL, playing for the Packers from 1989 to 1991 and again for the Indianapolis Colts from 1996 to 1998.
Lorenzo White, running back
White was a two-time first team All-American for the Spartans from 1984 to 1987. He appeared in three bowl games and led the Spartans to their 1987 Big Ten Championship and 1988 Rose Bowl victories.
White holds the record for most rushing yards in a season at MSU when he galloped for 2,066 yards and 17 touchdowns as a sophomore in 1985. In that season, White had 11 100-yard rushing games, four of which were 200-yard games.
White's 4,887 career rushing yards currently ranks seventh in Big Ten history.
White was selected by the Houston Oilers in the first round of the 1988 NFL Draft. He played professionally for eight seasons as Houston Oilers from 1988 to 1994 and then with Cleveland Browns in 1995.
Darryl Rogers, MSU Football head coach from 1976 to 1979
Rogers led the Spartans to a 24-18-2 record in four years as head coach at MSU. Rogers took the Spartans to the 1978 Big Ten championship and claimed the university's fourth conference title.
He also received the 1978 Big Ten Coach of the Year award after the Spartans closed a championship season on a seven-game winning streak.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
MSU currently has nine players and four coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame.
