Two Buffs on ballot for College Football Hall of Fame

BOULDER — The College Football Hall of Fame announced its candidates for the 2023 class on Monday, and included a pair of former Colorado Buffaloes: guard Joe Garten and linebacker Matt Russell. Colorado currently has 10 representatives in the hall of fame, if you include running back Rashaan Salaam, who will be inducted as part of the 2022 class.

Typically, between 10 and 20 players are inducted in each cycle. The pool of candidates for the 2023 class includes 176 players. The vast majority of inductees come from the FBS ranks, which 80 of those 176 nominees are. A safe estimate would be that 12 of those 80 will be inducted, giving the CU duo a solid chance.

Some big names are up for induction in this cycle, including Tim Tebow, Reggie Bush, Alex Smith, Ryan Leaf, Ray Lewis, Luke Kuechley.

The voters include 12,000 National Football Foundation members and current hall of famers. Voting will conclude June 30.

Garten was a two-time unanimous All-American and was a unanimous first-team All-American senior season. He was a captain on the 1990 national championship team.

Russell was a consensus All-American as a senior in 1996 when he won the Butkus Award, which goes to the nation’s top linebacker. He is still Colorado’s leader in unassisted tackles.

Colorado’s current hall of famers are Salaam (who will be inducted in December), as well as Bill McCartney, Byron White, Joe Romig, Bobby Anderson, Dick Anderson, Alfred Williams, John Wooten, Herb Orvis and Michael Westbrook.