South Florida dominates 2020 Pro Football HOF semifinalists. One Dolphin among them.
South Florida is well represented among the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2020 semifinalists announced Tuesday afternoon.
Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas made the semifinalist list for the second consecutive year and is one of five linebackers -- along with Carl Banks, Clay Matthews, Sam Mills, and first-time eligible Patrick Willis -- to be among the top 25.
Former University of Miami running back Edgerrin James leads a group of three running backs in the group, along with Fred Taylor, who played at the University of Florida after prepping at Belle Glades Central in Palm Beach County, and Ricky Watters. It is James’ sixth time as a semifinalist.
Four wide receivers are among the 25 semifinalists and two of those, Isaac Bruce and Reggie Wayne, have strong South Florida ties. Bruce is from Fort Lauderdale and played at Fort Lauderdale’s Dillard High while Wayne was a star at the University of Miami. Torry Holt and Hines Ward are the other wide receivers among the semifinalists.
The rest of the semifinalists are:
Offensive linemen Tony Boselli, Alan Faneca and Steve Hutchinson of Coral Springs.
Defensive backs Steve Atwater, Ronde Barber, Leroy Butler, John Lynch, Troy Polamalu and Darren Woodson.
Defensive linemen Simeon Rice, Bryant Young and Richard Seymour.
And special teams player Steve Tasker.
Three first-year eligible players — Wayne, Polamalu, and Willis — qualified among the 25 semifinalists. This year’s list of semifinalists also includes four others — Banks, Taylor, Watters and Young — who were previously eligible but are semifinalists for the first time.
This Modern-Era players list will be reduced to 15 Finalists that will be announced on Jan. 2, 2020.
The finalists will then be presented to the full 48-member Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee during its annual meeting on “Selection Saturday,” on Feb. 1, 2020, the day before Super Bowl 54 in Miami.
The Selection Committee will elect five Modern-Era players for the Class of 2020.
This story was originally published November 26, 2019 at 1:02 PM.
