The College Football Hall of Fame came calling Thursday for former Florida linebacker Wilber Marshall and Florida State nose tackle Ron Simmons, who were elected as part of a 15-man induction class.
The Class of 2008 also includes Arnold Tucker, who started building his fame at Miami High before becoming a University of Miami quarterback in 1943 and then heading to Army. At West Point, he orchestrated the offense that propelled both Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis to the Heisman Trophy.
Former UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman, LSU running back Billy Cannon and Oklahoma State running back Thurman Thomas also were among 13 players elected, along with coaches Lou Holtz and John Cooper.
They were selected from 75 players and eight coaches who made the ballot this year.
The new Hall of Famers will be formally inducted Dec. 9 at the National Football Foundation's annual New York gala. An enshrinement ceremony at the Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., also will be held in summer 2009.
Marshall set a UF record with 23 sacks during his career from 1980-83, earning consensus All-America honors as both a junior and senior. He also was a Lombardi Award finalist both years.
The Chicago Bears' first-round draft pick in 1984, he won a Super Bowl two seasons later and picked up another ring with the Washington Redskins. In 1999, the Gainesville Sun named Marshall as UF's Defensive Player of the Century.
Simmons was Bobby Bowden's first high-profile recruit at FSU, leading the Seminoles to Orange Bowl berths in 1979 and '80. The Seminoles reached No. 2 in the polls during his senior season, finishing fifth.
Simmons still ranks No. 2 on FSU's all-time tackles list (483) and third in career sacks (25).
Tucker was 27-0-1 as Army's quarterback from 1944-46, overshadowed by the exploits of Blanchard (1945 Heisman) and Davis (1946 Heisman). Tucker, however, was given the 1946 Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete.
