IRVING, Texas (Sept. 23, 2026) – The University of Georgia and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that they will jointly honor 2026 NFF College Football Hall of Fame electee Garrison Hearst with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments. The Salute will take place on Sept. 26, during the Bulldogs' home football game against Oklahoma, which will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
"Garrison Hearst was simply electric," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "Every time he touched the ball, he had the ability to change a game, and his remarkable 1992 season remains one of the great individual performances in Georgia history. We are thrilled to bring him back to Sanford Stadium and give Bulldog fans the opportunity to celebrate him as a member of the 2026 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class."
The NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute program, which began with the inaugural NFF 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 NFF Hall of Fame experience.
During the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, each electee returns to his respective school to accept an NFF 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 NFF Hall of Famers cite the experience as the ultimate capstone to their careers, providing them with one more chance to take the field and be recognized in front of their home crowd.
Hearst delivered a historic junior campaign in 1992, earning unanimous First Team All-America honors and capturing the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back. He finished third in Heisman Trophy voting and led the nation in scoring with 126 points, while also becoming the inaugural recipient of the ESPY Award for the nation's most outstanding college football player. Click here for his full NFF Hall of Fame bio.
The Lincolnton, Georgia, native now becomes the seventeenth Bulldogs player inducted into the Hall, joining Bob McWhorter (1910-13), Vernon Smith (1929-31), Bill Hartman (1935-37), Frank Sinkwich (1940-42), Charley Trippi (1942; 45-46), John Rauch (1945-48), Fran Tarkenton (1958-60), Bill Stanfill (1966-68), Jake Scott (1967-68), Scott Woerner (1977-80), Herschel Walker (1980-82), Terry Hoage (1980-83), Kevin Butler (1981-84), Matt Stinchcomb (1995-98), Champ Bailey (1996-98), and David Pollack (2001-04). Hall of Fame coaches who headed the University of Georgia program include Wally Butts, Jim Donnan, Vince Dooley, Mark Richt, and Pop Warner.
Members of the 2026 class include Jerry Azumah (New Hampshire), Ki-Jana Carter (Penn State), Bruce Collie (Texas at Arlington), George Cumby (Oklahoma), Aaron Donald (Pittsburgh), Marvin Harrison (Syracuse), Garrison Hearst (Georgia), Chris Hudson (Colorado), Mark Ingram (Alabama), Olin Kreutz (Washington), James Laurinaitis (Ohio State), Jordan Lynch (Northern Illinois), Herman Moore (Virginia), Terence Newman (Kansas State), Bob Novogratz (Army West Point), Ndamukong Suh (Nebraska), Peter Warrick (Florida State), Eric Weddle (Utah), and coaches Jim Margraff (Johns Hopkins [MD]), Gary Patterson (Texas Christian University), Chris Petersen (Boise State, Washington), and Ken Sparks (Carson-Newman [TN]).
The 2026 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class will officially be inducted during the 68th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 8, 2026, at the Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Please click here to purchase tickets.
Including the 2026 NFF Hall of Fame Class, only 1,129 players have been inducted into the NFF College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.7 million who have played the game during the past 158 years. From the coaching ranks, 241 individuals have achieved NFF Hall of Fame distinction. In other words, less than two one-hundredths of a percent (0.02%) of the individuals who have played or coached 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 their 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 journalist Grantland Rice, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) is a nonprofit organization that leverages the power of amateur football to build leaders. With 120 chapters in 47 states, the NFF oversees initiatives such as the NFF College Football Hall of Fame, the William V. Campbell Trophy®, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Fidelity Investments, Future For Football, and I Played. Learn more at footballfoundation.org and follow @NFFNetwork on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
