College Football Hall of Fame Ballot Released: Three Bulldogs Present, Erk Russell Absent

The National Football Foundation has released the 2010 College Football Hall of Fame ballot, which features 77 players and seven coaches from the Division I-A ranks. As anticipated, the name of Erskine "Erk" Russell does not appear on the ballot because Coach Russell's candidacy will be considered by the Veterans Committee in April. The full ballot may be downloaded in .pdf format here.

In the meantime, three former Georgia players are on the ballot for induction: Jake Scott (defensive back, 1967-1968), Matt Stinchcomb (offensive tackle, 1995-1998), and Scott Woerner (defensive back, 1977-1980). Ballots are due by March 31, presumably in order to allow the results to be known by the Veterans Committee before its work begins early next month.

The membership of the Veterans Committee is kept private in order to spare the members from being bombarded with solicitations. Should Coach Russell's candidacy not pass muster with the Veterans Committee, the next step would be to examine the process for changing (or obtaining a waiver of) the ten-year rule, which is all that stands between Erk and the honor he deserves.

Go 'Dawgs!