2026 College Football Hall of Fame Class Adds Shine to Personal Collections
The top of the football mountain may be in Canton for most, but that would be overlooking greatness in other areas who are heading to Atlanta for enshrinement – especially for coaches. In the world of sports card collecting, adding a Hall of Famer’s rookie card to the personal collection can be extremely valuable. An added bonus for the PC, in some cases, is a College Football Hall of Famer.
On Wednesday, the National Football Foundation announced the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame Class… and it is loaded with amazing players and coaches.
The Highlights
The Running Backs
This running back class is strong, led by 2009 Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram (Alabama). Other backs in the class include former Penn State All-American Ki-Jana Carter and former Georgia Bulldogs All-American Garrison Hearst.
For those that did not follow New Hampshire football in the mid-90s, Jerry Azumah was fantastic. Before becoming a fifth-round pick of the Chicago Bears in 1998, Azumah was a focal point in then-head coach Chip Kelly’s… offense. NFL fans know the 2003 Pro Bowler as a defensive back. In college, Azumah broke two FCS records with 6,193 career rushing yards and 8,376 career all-purpose yards.
The Receivers
On the offensive output meter, this receiver group is full of standouts. Before Marvin Harrison was selected to eight Pro Bowls with the Indianapolis Colts, he was working over Big East defensive backs for Syracuse. Harrison’s top collegiate season came in 1995, hauling in 56 passes for 1,131 yards with 8 touchdowns.
During the 1990 season, Herman Moore was unstoppable. The Virginia wide out snatched 54 passes, averaging 22.0 yards per catch, for 1,190 yards and 13 scores.
For ACC and Florida State fans, Peter Warrick needs no introduction. Warrick’s breakout season came in 1997, producing 884 yards off 53 receptions with 8 touchdowns. The first All-American season came the following year when the junior had 61 receptions for 1,232 yards with a nation-leading 12 receiving touchdowns.
Defensive Standouts
On the other side of the ball, one of the nastiest to put on a helmet and chin strap was Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Suh’s dominating ways in the trenches that earned him NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2010 was loved by the Cornhuskers’ faithful. Suh killed Big 12 competition as a junior (76 tackles/16 TFL) and senior (85 tackles/20.5 TFL), earning All-American honors in 2009.
Arguably the best defensive tackle to ever play the game, Aaron Donald will represent Pitt in the 2026 class. Donald was as decorated as it gets in the NFL, earning Defensive Player of the Year three times (2017-18, 2020). As a junior with the Panthers, Donald led the nation with 18.5 tackles for a loss and replicated the feat as a senior in 2013 with 28.5 tackles for a loss.
On his way to becoming the 13th overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, Donald left the collegiate ranks winning the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award, Lombardi Award, Outland Trophy, and was tabbed a unanimous All-American in 2013.
Coaching Excellence
Among the coaches, Dirk Koetter and Dan Hawkins helped put Boise State football on the radar, Chris Petersen firmly put the Broncos on the college football map. From 2006 to 2013, no one wanted to play Boise State. Petersen accumulated 147 career wins between stints at Boise State and Washington. The 147 victories tie Petersen with Dennis Erickson and Warren Woodson for 70th on the coaches’ career wins list.
The Horned Frogs had some bright spots on the field in the 1930s and 1950s but were relegated to the bottom of the Southwest Conference for decades. When the SWC folded, TCU looked to find their footing between the Western Athletic Conference and Conference USA. When Gary Patterson joined the fold in 2001, a change was in progress.
Patterson guided the Frogs to the top of CUSA, then the Mountain West Conference, and later to the top of the Big 12. Twenty-two years in all with TCU (2000-2021), Patterson produced a 181-79 career record, good for 35th all-time on the wins list.
In the Hobby
The NFL rookie card for Hall of Famers has a premium but there is something cool about having a player’s “first” or in Bowman’s case, “1st”, card. Thanks to the card explosion during the 1990s, many high-profile players have a collegiate card.
The other cool part, most of the cards are easily found on secondary sales platforms, more times than not, for under $2.
For players like Azumah, he did not get his first trading card until 1999 as a member of the Bears. Once manufacturers found him, the floodgates opened; 24 different cards were made for him from Leaf, Bowman, Score, Sage, and Playoff. The same holds true for Aaron Donald. His first cards did not hit the market until his rookie season in 2014.
The 2026 Hall of Fame Class will be inducted during a ceremony in Las Vegas, at the Bellagio, on December 8.
College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026
Players
- RB Jerry Azumah – University of New Hampshire (1995-98)
- RB Ki-Jana Carter – Penn State (1991-94)
- OT Bruce Collie – University of Texas at Arlington (1981-84)
- LB George Cumby – Oklahoma (1976-79)
- DT Aaron Donald – Pittsburgh (2010-13)
- WR Marvin Harrison – Syracuse (1992-95)
- RB Garrison Hearst – Georgia (1990-92)
- DB Chris Hudson – Colorado (1991-94)
- RB Mark Ingram – Alabama (2008-10)
- C Olin Kreutz – Washington (1995-97)
- LB James Laurinaitis – Ohio State (2005-08)
- QB Jordan Lynch – Northern Illinois (2010-13)
- WR Herman Moore – Virginia (1988-90)
- CB Terence Newman – Kansas State (1999-2002)
- OG Bob Novogratz – United States Military Academy (1957-58)
- DT Ndamukong Suh – Nebraska (2006-09)
- WR Peter Warrick – Florida State (1996-99)
- S Eric Weddle – Utah (2003-06)
Coaches
- Jim Margraff – Johns Hopkins (1990-2018)
- Gary Patterson – TCU (2000-21)
- Chris Petersen – Boise State (2006-13), Washington (2014-19)
- Ken Sparks – Carson-Newman University (1980-2016)
*Feature image provided by footballfoundation.org
