The National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame, located in South Bend, Indiana, has honored seven of BYU’s football greats, including six players along with lengendary head coach LaVell Edwards.
Most recently, former Cougar quarterback Ty Detmer was selected as part of the Hall of Fame Class of 2012, becoming the fifth BYU quarterback to enter the Hall of Fame, the most quarterbacks from the modern era of any university.
TY DETMER
Quarterback: 1988-1991
Inducted: 2012
BYU's only Heisman Trophy Winner, Detmer is BYU's seventh inductee into the Hall of Fame. Detmer also won the Maxwell Award, two Davey O’Brien Awards and set 59 NCAA records in his BYU career. Twice named Consensus All-American, Detmer won national player of the year awards from organizations such as UPI, CBS, Scripps Howard and the U.S. Sports Academy. His 15,031 career passing yards and 121 touchdowns were NCAA bests career numbers ever at the time. A three-time First Team All-WAC performer, Detmer led College Football Hall of Fame coach LaVell Edwards’ teams to three conference championships, four bowl games, three AP top 25 finishes and a 28-21 win over top-ranked and defending national champion Miami on Sept. 8, 1990. The NCAA Today’s Top VI Award recipient still holds 10 school records, including the season and career marks for total offense, passing yards and 400-yard games. A ninth round selection of the 1992 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers, Detmer played 14 seasons in the NFL.
GORDON HUDSON
Tight End: 1980-1983
Inducted: 2009
Hudson is the first non-quarterback to represent BYU as a player in the College Football Hall of Fame. A consensus All-America First Team pick in 1982 and 1983, Hudson is still the NCAA FBS record holder for most passes caught per game by a tight end (5.4) in a career, most career yards per game by a tight end (75.3) and most yards in a single game by a tight end (259). Hudson helped BYU win four WAC Championships and earn four Holiday Bowl invitations during his career from 1980-83. He had 67 catches for 928 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 13.9 yards per catch and 6.1 catches per game as a junior. In 1983, as a senior, Hudson earned consensus All-America honors again along with quarterback Steve Young, giving BYU two consensus All-Americans in the same season for the first time in school history. Hudson had 44 catches for 596 yards and six touchdowns in eight games before having his season shortened by an injury. He totaled 2,484 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns during his All-American career.
STEVE YOUNG
Quarterback: 1982-83
Inducted: 2005
Young finished his BYU career having set 13 NCAA records. As a junior, he averaged 318.8 yards per game of total offense, earning Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors. In his senior season, he repeated the WAC honors while completing 306-of-429 pass attempts for an impressive .713 percentage and led BYU to its second straight Holiday Bowl. His .713 completion percentage, 3,902 yards passing, 4,346 yards of total offense and 33 touchdowns all led the nation. During his BYU career, Young completed 592-of-907 attempts for a .653 average and 7,733 yards with 56 touchdowns. His 8,817 yards of total offense in only 31 games is among college football’s all-time greatest career numbers. A Consensus All-American, Young was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy and received a National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete Award in recognition for his excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community—a tradition he maintains today with the successful Forever Young Foundation. Young retired after 15 seasons in the NFL, where he earned two MVP awards, seven trips to the Pro Bowl and three Super Bowl titles with the San Francisco 49ers. Young was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2005.
LAVELL EDWARDS
Head Coach: 1972-2000
Inducted: 2004
A coaching icon whose success and longevity are paralleled by few, Edwards posted a record of 257-101-3 (.716) over a span of 29 seasons at BYU. From 1972 until his retirement following the 2000 season, Edwards roamed the sidelines at BYU--a tenure that ranks fifth all-time among coaches at one school. In 20 of those 29 seasons, the Cougars claimed the league title. Guiding BYU to 22 bowl game appearances, including a streak of 17-straight, Edwards reached the pinnacle of coaching success in 1984 by winning the National Championship. At retirement, his 257 wins ranked him sixth in NCAA Division I history. Edwards compiled a program best .716 winning percentage, coached one Heisman Trophy winner, two Outland Trophy recipients, four Davey O’Brien Award winners and seven Sammy Baugh recipients, not to mention countless players who went on to professional careers in the NFL. He was named NCAA District 8 Coach of the Year eight times, the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year in 1979 and AFCA National Coach of the Year in 1984. Named the State of Utah’s Coach of the Century, Edwards is a member of the State of Utah Sports Hall of Fame and the BYU Athletic Hall of Fame.
JIM MCMAHON
Quarterback: 1978-81
Inducted: 1998
Philadelphia Eagles from 1990-92; Minnesota Vikings in One of the great collegiate quarterbacks of all time, McMahon set 75 NCAA records at BYU, was a 1981 Consensus All-American, being named First Team by Kodak (Coaches), Associated Press, UPI, Football Writers Association of America, College & Pro Weekly and second team NEA. In 1980 he earned First team All-America from the FWAA. McMahon finished third place in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1981 and fifth in 1980. In 1981, he won the Davey O’Brien Trophy, the Sammy Baugh Award, NCAA Co-Offensive Player of the Year with Marcus Allen from the Pigskin Club of Wash., D.C. and was named the Utah Sportsman of the Year. He led the NCAA in pass efficiency (155.0) and total offense (345.8) in 1981 as well as pass efficiency (176.9) and total offense (385.6) in 1980. He set 29 Western Athletic Conference records and was three-time WAC Player of the Year and first team all-league. He broke 23 school records, was MVP of the 1980 and 1981 Holiday Bowls and was later inducted to the Holiday Bowl Hall of Fame. McMahon passed for 9,536 yards, threw 84 touchdowns and completed 653 of 1,056 passes during his career at BYU. McMahon played for the Chicago Bears from 1982-88 (1985 Super Bowl Champions, 1985 Pro QB of the Year, and Pro Bowl); San Diego Chargers in 1989; Philadelphia Eagles from 1990-92; Minnesota Vikings in 1993; Arizona Cardinals in 1994; and Green Bay Packers from 1995-96 (1997 Super Bowl Champions).
MARC WILSON
Quarterback: 1976-79
Inducted: 1996
Wilson earned consensus All-America honors in 1979 having been named first team by the American Football Coaches Association (Kodak), the Football Writers Association of America, United Press International, Association Press, Walter Camp Football Foundation and the Churchmen's Hall of Fame. Asa a senior he was named national Player of the Year by the Downtown Athletic Club of New York and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1979. During his BYU career, Wilson set ten NCAA records. The 6-5, 204-pound quarterback was also the recipient of the NCAA Top Five Award and the NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship. A first-round draft pick of the Oakland Raiders, Wilson played eight seasons before finishing his career with the New England Patriots.
GIFFORD NIELSEN
Quarterback: 1975-77
Inducted: 1994
Nicknamed the “Mormon Rifle,” Gifford Nielsen became BYU’s first Hall of Fame inductee in 1994. As a junior in 1976, Nielsen really made a name for himself and the BYU offense nationally. He passed for 3,192 yards and 29 touchdowns, set 13 WAC records. He led the NCAA in TD passes, passing yards and was second in total offense on his way to being named first-team All-American and finishing sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting. His senior season got off to an amazing start. He threw five touchdowns against New Mexico, six against Utah State and was twice named Player of the Week, while leading BYU football team to its first national ranking. Unfortunately, on Oct. 8, 1977, his senior season and college career ended when he suffered a serious knee injury. Over his three seasons at BYU Nielsen averaged an astounding 243 yards passing per game. Nielsen was selected in the third round of the 1978 NFL draft by the Houston Oilers. He played six years in Houston and was the last quarterback to lead the Oilers to the AFC finals.