WOUB ATHENS, Ohio — Frank Solich, the former head football coach at Ohio University, will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
According to the Atlanta-based College Football Hall of Fame, Solich was one of the 19 players and three coaches in the class named by the National Football Foundation on Monday.
After managing the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1998 to 2003, when he won a Big 12 championship and competed for a National Championship, the former head coach of the Bobcats arrived in Athens in 2005.
Solich led OU to its third winning season since 1983 in just two seasons, going 9-5 in 2006 and capturing the MAC East.
With a 115-82 record, 11 bowl games, and four MAC East championships in 16 seasons, he went on to become the most successful coach in MAC history. His final record was 173-101 overall.
Citing health issues, Solich announced his retirement prior to the 2021 campaign.
Danny Hale of Division II West Chester and Bloomsburg and Mark Dantonio of Cincinnati and Michigan State have joined him in the new College Football Hall of Fame coaching class.
Larry Fitzgerald and Randy Moss were two of the 19 players named for the new class.
During his two seasons at Marshall, Moss—who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018—was among college football’s most explosive players. As a return guy as well as a receiver, he was an All-American. Throughout his career, he caught 174 receptions for 3,529 yards and 54 touchdowns, earning him the 1997 Biletnikoff Award. That season, he set a Bowl Subdivision record with 26 touchdown receptions. Over the course of 14 NFL seasons, he played for five clubs and five times was the top receiver in the league.
Fitzgerald played for Pittsburgh, where he finished second in the 2003 Heisman Trophy race and won the Biletnikoff Award. In his two seasons there, he caught 161 passes for 2,677 yards and 34 touchdowns, setting a school record. In 18 straight games, he caught a touchdown, setting an NCAA record. In his 17 years with the Arizona Cardinals, he was selected to the Pro Bowl 11 times. He was the third overall choice in the 2004 NFL Draft.
Warrick Dunn from Florida State, Toby Gerhart from Stanford, Julius Peppers from North Carolina, Danny Woodhead from Chadron State, Justin Blackmon from Oklahoma State, Paul Cameron from UCLA, Tim Couch from Kentucky, Armanti Edwards from Appalachian State, Deon Figures from Colorado, Dan Hampton from Arkansas, Steve Hutchinson from Michigan, Antonio Langham from Alabama, Paul Posluszny from Penn State, Dewey Selmon from Oklahoma, Alex Smith from Utah, Kevin Smith from Texas A&M, and Chris Ward from Ohio State round out the rest of the 2024 class.
In December, during the NFF awards banquet in Las Vegas, the class will be inducted.
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