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Georgia

Pair of Georgia legends on 2026 College Football Hall of Fame ballot

On3 imageby: Jake Rowe06/02/25JakeMRowe
On3 image
Photo courtesy of UGA Sports Communications

Two of the best players to ever don a Georgia uniform will be on the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame ballot again in 2026. The National Football Foundation announced Monday that Bulldog legends Richard Seymour and Garrison Hearst will have another opportunity to get in. They were included along with 77 other players who are on the ballot. Nine coaches are also in the mix.

“For more than 65 years, the NFF College Football Hall of Fame has stood as the sport’s ultimate archive, honoring those whose impact on the game still echoes today,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “This year’s ballot carries forward that responsibility, spotlighting individuals who not only excelled on the field but also helped define what college football means to so many.”

More than 12,000 National Football Foundation members and current hall of famers received the ballot in their email inboxes on Monday. Their votes will be sent to NFF’s Honors Court where the dilberation and selection process will take place. The Honors Court is led by two-time Heisman Trophy winning running back Archie Griffin, who played at Ohio State and “includes an elite and geographically diverse pool of athletic administrators, NFF Hall of Famers and members of the media.”

Hearst, a Lincolnton, Ga. native, rushed for over 3,200 yards in his three-year Georgia career. He also tallied 33 rushing touchdowns before being taken in the first round of the 1993 NFL Draft. The Phoenix Cardinals took him with the No. 3 overall pick.

That was coming off the 1992 season where he posted 1,547 yards and 19 touchdowns. He finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting that season and left Georgia after his junior season. Hearst first appeared on the College Football Hall of Fame Ballot in 2023.

Seymour is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and a native of South Carolina. He spent four seasons at Georgia where he was a force in his final two. As a junior in 1999, he had 74 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four sacks and seven quarterback pressures from his interior defensive line position. He followed that up with another stellar seasons where he tallied 78 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks.

New England selected the Georgia standout with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft. Seymour went on to win three Super Bowls with the Patriots and was an All-Pro performer three times. After eight years in New England, Seymore played his final four seasons in Oakland.

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