WOAY – The College Football Hall of Fame released a list of eligible candidates Tuesday for the Class of 2021, with two former West Virginia Mountaineers and one former Virginia Tech Hokie remaining on the ballot.
Aaron Beasley was a three-year starter at defensive for WVU in the mid-1990s, earning All-America recognition in 1995. Beasley led the nation with 10 interceptions in the 1994 season, and finished with 19 career picks – second-most in WVU program history. This is his second year on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot; he was inducted into WVU’s Hall of Fame in 2009.
Jim Carlen was the Mountaineers’ head coach from 1966-1969, his first varsity head coaching job. He led West Virginia to a Southern Conference championship in 1967, and two years later enjoyed a 10-win season, including a victory over South Carolina in the Peach Bowl. Carlen would also coach at Texas Tech and South Carolina, winning 107 total games (25 at WVU). Like Beasley, this is Carlen’s second year on the ballot.
Former Virginia Tech defensive end Corey Moore is on the ballot for a third straight year. He was a two-time All-American (unanimous in 1999) and helped lead the Hokies to the 2000 Sugar Bowl, that season’s BCS National Championship Game. Moore won both the Lombardi Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy in 1999, and was the first back-to-back winner of the Big East Defensive Player of the Year.
Also on the ballot for the Class of 2021 is former Glenville State wide receiver Chris George, and longtime Troy head coach Larry Blakeney, who was succeeded at Troy by Neal Brown.
Ballots have been sent to National Football Foundation members, who have until July 7 to vote.
