Saban, Meyer, Donald among those on HOF ballot

Nick Saban and Urban Meyer are up for election to the College Football Hall of Fame for the first time.

The ballot for the Hall of Fame class to be announced in January was released by the National Football Foundation on Monday. It includes 77 players and nine coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 101 players and 34 coaches from the divisional ranks, which include the Championship Subdivision and Divisions II and III.

Among the players appearing on the ballot for the Atlanta-based hall for the first time is former Pitt defensive lineman Aaron Donald, who retired earlier this year after 10 NFL seasons with the Rams.

Other first-timers on the ballot include 2012 Heisman Trophy runner-up Manti Te’o from Notre Dame; 2009 Heisman winner Mark Ingram from Alabama and former California wide receiver DeSean Jackson.

Saban retired earlier this year after 17 seasons as Alabama coach. He won six national championships with the Crimson Tide and another with LSU in 2003 for a record seven career titles. In 28 years as a college head coach with Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and Alabama, Saban was 297-71-1.

Meyer won three national titles during his 17-season career as a college head coach, two with Florida and one with Ohio State in 2014. He also had stops at Bowling Green and Utah. He retired from Ohio State after the 2018 season with a record of 187-32.

Among the players who are holdovers on this year’s ballot are former Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick, former Syracuse receiver Marvin Harrison and the late Sean Taylor, who played defensive back for Miami.