Three Mountaineers on This Year’s College Football Hall of Fame Ballot – West Virginia University Athletics

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University consensus All-American running back Steve Slaton is a new entrant on the ballot for this year’s College Football Hall of Fame released by the National Football Foundation (NFF) earlier today.
 

He joins consensus All-American cornerback Aaron Beasley and former Mountaineer coach Jim Carlen under consideration for this year’s induction class.
 
Slaton, originally from Levittown, Pennsylvania, rewrote the WVU and Big East record books during his outstanding three-year career as a Mountaineer, helping them to wins in the 2005 Sugar Bowl, 2006 Gator Bowl and 2007 Fiesta Bowl.
           
When he left school following the 2007 season, he ranked first in rushing touchdowns (50), total touchdowns (55) and total points by a non-kicker (330), and ranks second in total 100-yard rushing games (21), all-purpose yards (4,775), all-time receiving yards by a running back (805) and second in Big East history in total touchdowns with 53. Slaton was third all-time in rushing yards with 3,923 for his career. He and quarterback Pat White became the third duo in FBS history to rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons.
                     
Slaton scored the most touchdowns in a game by a WVU player when he posted six against Louisville on Oct. 15, 2005. Versus Pitt in 2006, he became the first Mountaineer to ever have 100 yards rushing (215) and 100 yards receiving (130) in the same game. Slaton and White became only the third tandem in NCAA Division I history to each rush for 200 yards or more yards in a single game against the Panthers that year, and the 215 yards rushing and the 130 yards receiving against Pitt were both career bests for Slaton.
          
As a true freshman in 2005, Slaton emerged as WVU’s lead tailback, rushing for 1,128 yards in 10 games and scoring 19 touchdowns. He was the 2005 Big East Rookie of the Year while earning first team freshman All-America honors by Rivals and second team honors by The Sporting News, CollegeFootballNews and Scout. 
 
He was one point shy of setting the school record for points in a game when he scored 36 against Louisville. WVU finished the regular season 10-1 and 7-0 in the Big East, and Slaton ended the season as the Sugar Bowl MVP with 204 yards rushing in the win over Georgia, highlighted by a pair of 52-yard touchdown runs. His 204 yards were not only a Sugar Bowl record, but the second-most rushing yards ever in a BCS game.
           
Slaton’s sophomore season in 2006 is considered one of the finest in school history when he earned consensus All-America honors by rushing for a WVU-record 1,744 yards and ranking fourth in NCAA rushing. He was one of three Doak Walker finalists, finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting and was a Maxwell Award semifinalist. 
 
Slaton earned First Team All-America honors by the AFCA, FWAA, Walter Camp, The Sporting News, AP and Scout. His rushing total was a WVU rushing record for a season, breaking Avon Cobourne’s mark of 1,710 yards. Slaton and White combined for 2,963 yards and 34 rushing touchdowns. They also combined for 4,978 total yards and 49 total touchdowns together.
           
During his final season as a Mountaineer in 2007, he accumulated 1,051 yards and scored 17 touchdowns, posting his third straight year of 1,000 or more yards rushing. He led WVU to another Big East title and a Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma. Slaton broke Ira Rodgers’ WVU record in career rushing touchdowns with 50. 
 
He left WVU as the No. 1 active points per game leader (9.4), No. 1 in touchdowns (50), No. 5 in yards per game (109.0) and No. 3 in rushing yards (3,923). 
           
Slaton entered the 2008 NFL Draft after his junior season and was selected in the third round by the Houston Texans. He played four years for the Texans (2008-11), one for the Miami Dolphins (2011) and finished his career in the Canadian Football League with the Toronto Argonauts (2014).
           
Slaton currently resides in Houston with his wife, Kimberly, where they have two children, Brennan and Darla. After retiring from football, Slaton enrolled in culinary school and is now a personal chef and kitchen consultant. 
 
He was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 2018 – his first year of eligibility.
 

Beasley, from Pottstown, Pennsylvania, remains on the Hall of Fame ballot after leading the nation with 10 interceptions in 1994 before earning consensus All-America honors in 1995. 
 
He was a two-time First Team All-Big East choice who helped the Mountaineers to an undefeated regular season and a 1993 Big East title as a sophomore. His 19 career interceptions for 367 yards rank second in school history as do his 38 career pass breakups.
 
Beasley picked off a career-high three passes against Virginia Tech on Sept. 22, 1994, and broke up a career-best four passes in a 24-13 win over Temple on Sept. 9, 1995.
 
He played nine NFL seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons and was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
 
Carlen, a Cookeville, Tennessee, native, coached 16 college football seasons at West Virginia, Texas Tech and South Carolina from 1966-81. His first four years at WVU from 1966-69 were transformational for a struggling Mountaineer grid program.
 
His final season at West Virginia in 1969 saw the Mountaineers win 10 games, defeat South Carolina in the Peach Bowl and return to the national rankings for the first time in 14 years. He had winning seasons in three of his four years at West Virginia and finished with a 25-13-1 record.
 
The Georgia Tech graduate had winning campaigns in four out of the five seasons he coached at Texas Tech and led the Red Raiders to two Sun Bowls, one Gator Bowl and a Peach Bowl from 1970-74. Carlen’s best team at Tech in 1973 posted an 11-1 record, defeated 19^th-ranked Arizona during the regular season, topped 14^th-ranked Tennessee 28-19 in the Peach Bowl and ended the year ranked 11^th in the country.
 
The following year, Carlen’s team upset sixth-ranked Texas 26-3 and tied Vanderbilt 6-6 in the Peach Bowl.
 
Afterward, Carlen left Texas Tech for South Carolina where he revitalized the Gamecock program. Carlen had 8-4 seasons in 1979 and ’80 and coached Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers while he was there.
 
In his final campaign at South Carolina in 1981, his team upset third-ranked North Carolina and finished the year 6-6. He had 13 winning seasons out of 16 and owns a 107-69-6 career record with eight bowl appearances.
 

Carlen died July 22, 2012 in Hilton Head, South Carolina, at age 79.
 
A total of 77 players and nine coaches are on this year’s ballot from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 101 players and 34 coaches are represented from the divisional ranks.
 
The ballot was mailed today to more than 12,000 NFF members and current Hall of Famers whose votes will be tabulated and submitted to the NFF’s Honors Court.
 
The Honors Court is comprised of athletic administrators, Hall of Famers and media members. The announcement of the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be made in early 2025, with specific details to be announced by the NFF in the future.
  
Thirteen former players and coaches associated with West Virginia University are currently in the College Football Hall of Fame. The most recent inductee was coach Frank Cignetti Sr. in 2013.