IRVING, Texas (Oct. 24, 2023) – Georgia Tech and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that they will jointly honor 2023 College Football Hall of Fame electee Coach Paul Johnson with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments®. The Salute will take place this Saturday, Oct. 28, during the Yellow Jackets' home football game against North Carolina, which will kick off at 8:00 p.m. ET on ACCN.
 
"Capitalizing on his patented spread option offense – one of the most innovative offensive schemes in all of college football, Paul Johnson took three programs to the top of their respective conferences and the national rankings, winning two national titles and five conference championships and making 18 bowl appearances," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "We are thrilled to honor him at Bobby Dodd Stadium as a member of the 2023 College Football Hall of Fame Class."
 
The NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute program, which began with the inaugural College Football Hall of Fame Class in 1951, has become a hallowed tradition, and to this day the singular events remain the first of numerous activities in the Hall of Fame experience. 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.
 
Johnson won 65.6 percent of his games, amassing an overall record of 189-99-0. At Georgia Tech from 2008 to 2018, he went 82-60 during 11 seasons, and the Yellow Jackets appeared in the final national rankings in 2008 (No. 22), 2009 (No. 13), and 2014 (No. 8). He led Georgia Tech to nine bowl games, including two New Year's Six bowls (Orange 2009, 2014). The Yellow Jackets appeared in three ACC Championship games during his tenure and won the ACC Coastal Division four times. His Georgia Tech teams led the ACC in rushing offense every year, and he was named ACC Coach of the Year three times (2008, 2009, 2014). He is the fourth-winningest coach at Georgia Tech behind John Heisman, William Alexander, and Bobby Dodd, who are all in College Football Hall of Fame. He coached two of nine total 10-win seasons and one of five 11-win seasons in Georgia Tech history.
 
At Navy (2002-07), he inherited a program that had gone 1-20 in the previous two seasons. Johnson transformed the program, and during his six seasons in Annapolis, the Midshipmen went 45-29, landing at No. 24 in the Associated Press poll in 2004. He coached Navy to five bowl berths. Johnson went 11-1 in Commander-In-Chief's trophy games, winning five CIC trophies, which represents the annual winner of the Air Force-Army-Navy round-robin. He never lost to Army, going 6-0 against the Black Knights, and in 2007 he led Navy to a victory over Notre Dame for the first time in 43 years. 
 
In his five seasons at Georgia Southern (1997-2001), the Eagles notched a 62-10 record, making five FCS playoff appearances and winning the FCS championship twice (1999 and 2000). He won the Southern Conference with Georgia Southern every year. He was twice named Southern Conference Coach of the Year (1997 and 1998) while heading the Eagles program. The 1999 team led the nation in scoring, rushing and total offense, and set the NCAA single-season record for average rushing yards per game (419.0) while breaking 197 schools records.  Johnson was inducted into the Georgia Southern Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.
 
Johnson coached 11 First Team All-Americans and one First Team Academic All-American. He coached 1999 Walter Payton Award winner and 2017 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Adrian Peterson at Georgia Southern and 2010 Burlsworth Trophy recipient Sean Bedford at Georgia Tech.
 
Johnson was recognized as the CBS National Coach of the Year in 2008, the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year in 2004, and the Eddie Robinson Award winner as the I-AA National Coach of the Year in 1998. He was twice named the AFCA NCAA Division I-AA National Coach of the Year (1999, 2000).
 
Before becoming a head coach, Johnson served as offensive coordinator at Navy (1995-96), Hawaii (1987-94), Georgia Southern (1985-86) and as defensive line coach at Georgia Southern (1983-84). During his first stint at Georgia Southern, he was part of the coaching team that won consecutive FCS National Championships (1985-86) with the Eagles, and as the offensive coordinator at Georgia Southern, he mentored College Football Hall of Fame inductee Tracy Ham. His coaching career began with roles as an offensive coordinator at Avery County (N.C.) High School from 1979-80 and at nearby Lees-McRae College from 1981-82.
 
He has participated in a wide variety of charitable endeavors at each of his schools over the years, including his annual participation in the Bobby Dodd and Chick-fil-A charity golf tournaments, which raise money for the Bobby Dodd Foundation, WinShape Homes and the schools' scholarship funds. Johnson earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Western Carolina in 1979 and his master's in health and physical education from Appalachian State in 1982.
 
The Newland, North Carolina, native now becomes the fourth Georgia Tech coach to enter the College Football Hall of Fame, joining Bill Alexander (1920-1944), Bobby Dodd (1945-1966), and John Heisman (1904-1919).
 
Fourteen Georgia Tech players have been inducted, including: Joe Guyon (1912-13, 17-18), Everett Strupper (1915-17), Bill Fincher (1916-20), Buck Flowers (1916-20), Peter Pund (1926-28), Bobby Davis (1944-47), Ray Beck (1948-51), George Morris (1950-52), Larry Morris (1951-54), Maxie Baughan (1957-59), Randy Rhino (1972-74), Pat Swilling (1982-85), Joe Hamilton (1996-99) and Calvin Johnson (2004-06).
 
The 2023 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted during the 65th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 5 at the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Click here for more information on the Awards Dinner, including options to purchase tickets online, special travel rates to the event from Delta Air Lines and hotel rates at the ARIA.
 
The 2023 College Football Hall of Fame Class includes Eric Berry (Tennessee), Michael Bishop (Kansas State), Reggie Bush (Southern California), Dwight Freeney (Syracuse), Robert Gallery (Iowa), LaMichael James (Oregon), Derrick Johnson (Texas), Bill Kollar (Montana State), Luke Kuechly (Boston College), Jeremy Maclin (Missouri), Terance Mathis (New Mexico), Bryant McKinnie (Miami [FL]), Corey Moore (Virginia Tech), Michael Stonebreaker (Notre Dame), Tim Tebow (Florida), Troy Vincent (Wisconsin), Brian Westbrook (Villanova), DeAngelo Williams (Memphis), and coaches Monte Cater (Lakeland [WI], Shepherd [WV]), Paul Johnson (Georgia Southern, Navy, Georgia Tech), Roy Kramer (Central Michigan) and Mark Richt (Georgia, Miami [FL]).
 
The accomplishments of the 2023 Class 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 2023 Hall of Fame Class, only 1,074 players and 230 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.7 million who have played or coached the game during the past 154 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.
 
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 in 47 states, NFF programs include the selection and induction of members of the College Football Hall of Fame; 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; the NFF National High School Academic Excellence Award; 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, Jostens, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the New York Athletic Club, the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation and the Sports Business Journal. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @NFFNetwork and learn more at footballfoundation.org.