Greg Myers won the Jim Thorpe Award in 1995 as the nation's best defensive back. Photo courtesy CSU
For the first time in its history, the College Football Hall of Fame has a player from Colorado, Colorado State and Air Force in an induction class in the same year.
As a bonus, a former Broncos tailback who led the NFL in rushing in 1974 also was named to the Hall's 2012 class, which was announced Tuesday.
The National Football Foundation selected former Colorado State defensive back Greg Myers, former Colorado guard John Wooten and former Air Force safety Scott Thomas to the 2012 class. Also in the class is Otis Armstrong, the Broncos' first-round pick in the 1973 draft out of Purdue.
"I'm a little surprised," Armstrong said Tuesday when reached at his home in Centennial. "I'm very excited. It's a fantastic event; I'm looking forward to it."
The enshrinement ceremony for the class, which has 14 players and three coaches, is Dec. 4 at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York.
Myers, a CSU star from Windsor, was a two-time All-American and won the Jim Thorpe Award in 1995 as the nation's best defensive back.
"This is a huge honor for me and a huge honor for Colorado State," Myers said Tuesday. "Reality hasn't sunk in completely. It's a humbling experience. It brought back a bunch of great memories."
As a CSU senior, Myers led the NCAA with 555 punt return yards and three punt return touchdowns. He also set a Western Athletic Conference record with 1,332 career punt return yards. As a defensive back, he had 295 tackles and 15 interceptions.
Myers played five seasons in the NFL, then began a career in the medical field. He now is an anesthesiologist at Denver Health Medical Center. He will join consensus All-American Thurman "Fum" McGraw and former CSU coach Earle Bruce in the Hall.
Wooten, who played for CU from 1956-58, was selected by the veterans committee. He was one of the first African-Americans to earn All-America honors as a lineman, in 1958. He becomes the sixth Buffalo in the Hall.
"When an honor like this comes, it makes you reflect on all things that have happened across your life and it makes you happy," Wooten said in a news release from CU. "I just smile at how great the good Lord has blessed me. My wife told me this is 'your great birthday present for number 76.' "
Wooten played 10 seasons in the NFL and was a two-time all-pro. He is chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance Foundation, which works to promote diversity in NFL coaching, front office and scouting staffs.
Thomas was an Air Force safety from 1982-85. As a consensus All-American his senior season, Thomas returned a punt, a kickoff and an interception for touchdowns as the Falcons went 12-1 and were No. 5 in the final rankings.
"It's nice to be recognized, especially for things that were done at the Air Force Academy. Our students are truly student-athletes," Thomas said. "It's a humbling experience for me to be listed among all those great college football players."
Thomas said he received notice of his induction in a package that contained a football. He becomes the fourth AFA product in the Hall of Fame, joining lineman Brock Strom, defensive tackle Chad Hennings and coach Fisher DeBerry. Thomas is a commercial pilot now and a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force reserves.
Armstrong was a halfback at Purdue from 1970-72 and an All-American. He played eight seasons for the Broncos, including in Super Bowl XII.
"I thought about my days in the black and gold, playing our nemesis in Notre Dame and Indiana," Armstrong said. "One of my biggest memories is my last game at Purdue, we played Indiana and we won big and I had a great day, a career day."
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