IRVING, Texas (Oct. 19, 2021) – The University of Alabama and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that they will jointly honor 2020 College Football Hall of Fame electee E.J. Junior with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments. The Salute will take place this Saturday, Oct. 23, during the Crimson Tide home football game against Tennessee. Coverage of the game will start at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.
 
"It's not just an honor for me, it's for all the guys, the coaches, the administration at the University of Alabama," Junior told Tuscaloosa News after the announcement in March 2020. "I'm just a product of what we put on the field. Individuals may get recognized, but you're only as good as the guys that kept you on the field, the trainers, Coach [Bear] Bryant. It wasn't anything I did special. They put me in a position to be successful."
 
During the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, each electee returns to his respective school to accept a Hall of Fame plaque that will stay on permanent display at the institution. The events take place on the field during a home game, and many Hall of Famers cite the experience as the ultimate capstone to their careers, providing them one more chance to take the field and be recognized in front of their home crowd.
 
The 2020 and 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Classes will be officially inducted during the 63rd NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas Dec. 7 at the ARIA Resort & Casino Las Vegas. (The 2020 event was canceled due to COVID-19.)
 
"An imposing threat on the defensive line, E.J. Junior led Alabama to two national championships as part of a remarkable four years in Tuscaloosa," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "We are thrilled to honor him at Bryant-Denny Stadium."
 
A unanimous First Team All-American in 1980, Junior was a finalist for the Lombardi Award and guided Alabama to consecutive national championships in 1978 and 1979. In winning College Football Hall of Fame coach Paul "Bear" Bryant's final national title, Junior and the 1979 Crimson Tide squad went 12-0 and claimed the program's third-straight Sugar Bowl and SEC championships.
 
Junior lost only four games at Alabama as the Crimson Tide posted an astounding 44-4 record, including a 28-game winning streak from 1978-80, and never finished lower than No. 6 in the national rankings.
 
The three-time First Team All-SEC selection capped his career in a dominant 30-2 win over Baylor in the 1981 Cotton Bowl. Selected as the 1980 SEC Lineman of the Year by both the Atlanta Touchdown Club and the Birmingham Monday Morning Quarterback Club, Junior was the leader of a defense that allowed only 98 points during his senior campaign and just 67 in 1979.
 
He racked up 190 tackles and 21 sacks for the Crimson Tide while playing alongside Hall of Famers Marty Lyons and Ozzie Newsome, and his 10 career forced fumbles are tied for the school record. Junior is enshrined in the Senior Bowl, State of Alabama Sports and State of Tennessee halls of fame.
 
The fifth overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft, Junior was a two-time Pro Bowl selection while playing with the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals (1981-88). He subsequently played for the Miami Dolphins (1989-91), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1992) and Seattle Seahawks (1992-93). 
 
Junior became an ordained minister after retiring from the NFL while also entering the coaching ranks. He started out as a linebackers coach with the Seahawks and had stints with the Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars and Rhein Fire of NFL Europe.
 
After time as an assistant at Southwest Baptist (MO), Junior served as the head coach at Central State (OH) from 2009-13, and he was later an assistant and interim head coach at Delaware State. He is currently the defensive coordinator at Middletown High School in Ohio.
 
Junior becomes the 19th Crimson Tide player in the College Football Hall of Fame, joining Cornelius Bennett (1983-86), Johnny Mack Brown (1923-25), John Cain (1930-32), Harry Gilmer (1944-47), John Hannah (1970-72), Dixie Howell (1932-34), Pooley Hubert (1922-25), Don Hutson (1932-34), Lee Roy Jordan (1960-62), Woodrow Lowe (1972-75), Marty Lyons (1975-78), Vaughn Mancha (1944-47), Johnny Musso (1969-71), Billy Neighbors (1959-61), Ozzie Newsome (1974-77), Fred Sington (1928-30), Riley Smith (1933-35) and Derrick Thomas (1985-88).
 
Four former Alabama coaches are also in the Hall: Paul "Bear" Bryant (1958-82), Gene Stallings (1990-96), Frank Thomas (1931-46) and Wallace Wade (1923-30).
 
The 2020 College Football Hall of Fame Class includes Lomas Brown (Florida), Keith Byars (Ohio State), Eric Crouch (Nebraska), Eric Dickerson (SMU), Glenn Dorsey (LSU), John "Jumbo" Elliott (Michigan), Jason Hanson (Washington State), E.J. Henderson (Maryland), E.J. Junior (Alabama), Steve McNair (Alcorn State), Cade McNown (UCLA), Leslie O'Neal (Oklahoma State), Anthony Poindexter (Virginia), David Pollack (Georgia), Bob Stein (Minnesota), Michael Westbrook (Colorado), Elmo Wright (Houston) and coaches Dick Sheridan (Furman, North Carolina State), and Andy Talley (St. Lawrence [NY], Villanova).
 
The 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class includes Harris Barton (North Carolina), David Fulcher (Arizona State), Dan Morgan (Miami [FL]), Carson Palmer (Southern California), Tony Romo (Eastern Illinois), Kenneth Sims (Texas), C.J. Spiller (Clemson), Darren Sproles (Kansas State), Aaron Taylor (Notre Dame), Andre Tippett (Iowa), Al Wilson (Tennessee) and coaches Rudy Hubbard (Florida A&M) and Bob Stoops (Oklahoma).
 
The accomplishments of both classes will be forever immortalized at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, and each inductee will receive a custom ring created by Jostens, the official and exclusive supplier of NFF rings.
 
Including the 2020 and 2021 Hall of Fame Classes, only 1,038 players and 223 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.47 million who have played or coached the game during the past 152 years. In other words, less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of the individuals who have played the game have earned this distinction.
 
   
Date – Honoree (Hall of Fame Class) – School (Opponent)

• Oct. 23 – E.J. Junior (2020) – Alabama (vs. Tennessee)
• Oct. 23 – Cade McNown (2020) – UCLA (vs. Oregon)
• Oct. 30 – Keith Byars (2020) – Ohio State (vs. Penn State)
• Oct. 30 – E.J. Henderson (2020) – Maryland (vs. Indiana)
• Oct. 30 – Coach Dick Sheridan (2020) – NC State (vs. Louisville)
• Nov. 6 – David Fulcher (2021) – Arizona State (vs. Southern California)
• Nov. 13 – Steve McNair (2020) – Alcorn State (vs. Prairie View A&M)*
• Nov. 13 – Coach Andy Talley (2020) – Villanova (vs. Stony Brook)
• Nov. 13 – Andre Tippett (2021) – Iowa (vs. Minnesota)
• Nov. 20 – Dan Morgan (2021) – Miami [FL] (vs. Virginia Tech)
• Nov. 26 – Kenneth Sims (2021) – Texas (vs. Kansas State)
• Nov. 27 – Lomas Brown (2020) – Florida (vs. Florida State)
• Nov. 27 – Eric Dickerson (2020) – SMU (vs. Tulsa)
• Nov. 27 – Glenn Dorsey (2020) – LSU (vs. Texas A&M)

* Tentative
 
Fidelity Investments has served as the national presenting sponsor of the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes since 2010. The salutes are one component of a multi-year initiative between the two organizations to celebrate the scholar-athlete ideal and a joint commitment to higher education. Fidelity is also the presenting sponsor of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, and it helped launch the NFF Faculty Salutes in 2011, which recognize the contributions of the faculty athletics representatives around the country.
 
 
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About The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame
Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Future for Football, The William V. Campbell Trophy®, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include Catapult, Delta Air Lines, Fidelity Investments, Goodyear, Jostens, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the New York Athletic Club and the Sports Business Journal. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @NFFNetwork and learn more at footballfoundation.org.