Five Former Indy Bowl Players Up For College Football HoF
The College Football Hall of Fame announced their 2022 ballot today, and there are some massive names on the list. Players who left a long-standing mark on the college football landscape.
Some of those names include Reggie Bush (USC), Rashaan Salaam (Colorado), Peter Warrick (Florida State), Andrew Luck (Stanford), Steve Hutchinson (Michigan), Tim Couch (Kentucky), and plenty more. There are more than 70 players who will have their names on the ballot.
Among those names will be five players who played in Shreveport's Bowl Game, the Independence Bowl. All of the Indy Bowl tied nominees participated in the game during the 1990s era. Here are the players that will appear on the ballot:
Kevin Faulk, Running Back, LSU
Faulk played in the 1995 and 1997 Independence Bowls for LSU. In 95, Faulk was named Offensive MVP of the Indy Bowl in LSU's 45-26 win over Michigan State. However in 1997, Faulk only had seven rushing yards against Notre Dame.
Roy Williams, Defensive Back, Oklahoma
Williams played in the 1999 Indy Bowl, where his Oklahoma Sooners fell to Ole Miss 27-25. During that Indy Bowl, Williams had an interception that he nearly took back for a touchdown, but he was caught by Ole Miss (and future New Orleans Saint) running back Deuce McAllister before he could get to the endzone.
Flozell Adams, Offensive Tackle, Michigan State
Adams played against Faulk and the LSU Tigers in the 1995 Indy Bowl. His Michigan State Spartans took a 24-21 lead into half time, but the Spartans defense couldn't contain Faulk. LSU ended up winning 45-26.
Garrison Hearst, Running Back, Georgia
Hearst was a Sophomore when his Bulldogs took on the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Indy Bowl. He didn't create any major waves on the offensive side, as quarterback Eric Zeier and Andre Hastings did most of the work for the offense on their way to a 24-15 victory.
Josh Heupel, Quarterback, Oklahoma
We touched on this game a bit with Roy Williams above, but lets go a little deeper.
It was Bob Stoops first year as the Head Coach at Oklahoma when he took his Sooners to their only Indy Bowl appearance. This game was also a New Year's Eve game in 1999...one of the last college football games of the millennium.
The OU quarterback that year was Josh Heupel. The year after this Indy Bowl, he would be a National Champion, consensus All American, AP Player of the year, Walter Camp Award Winner, Archie Griffin Award Winner, Harley Award Winner...but the runner up to the Heisman Trophy. He would lose that to Chris Weinke of Florida State (Drew Brees was 3rd, and LaDainian Tomlinson was 4th).
The groundwork for that 2000 National Championship season was laid during the 1999 Indy Bowl. When Heupel went off. He threw 53 passes for 390 yards and three touchdowns, while setting three Indy Bowl records. He was named Offensive MVP for the game, even though Oklahoma lost to Ole Miss. That Indy Bowl was the last loss in Heupel's college career.
In addition to the players on the ballot, there will be two coaches who participated in the Indy Bowl. Those two are former Missouri Head Coach Gary Pinkel and former Louisiana Tech Head Coach Maxie Lambright. Pinkel coached in three Indy Bowls, 2003, 2005, and 2011, where he had a 2-1 record. Lambright coached in the 1977 and 1978 Indy Bowls, with a 1-1 record.