Former Wildcat, Bearcat and Chiefs on 2024 Hall of Fame ballot
Terence Newman, Tony Miles, Alex Smith and Eric Bieniemy all on 2024 College Football Hall of Fame ballot
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A pair of the best players in Kansas State, Northwest Missouri State football history along with two former Chiefs masterminds were named finalists for the College Football Hall of Fame on Monday afternoon.
Defensive back Terence Newman, a Salina, Kan. native, gathered a collection of accolades in his time with the Wildcats from 1998-2002. The 2002 Big 12 defensive player of the year, team captain, MVP and Jim Thorpe Award winner went on to play 15 seasons in the NFL, mostly with the Dallas Cowboys. He was the second Wildcat in history to both score on a kickoff and punt return in the 2002 season. The two-time Pro Bowler was enshrined in the Kansas State Hall of Fame in 2018 and will now be one of the 78 players considered for the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame class. The Wildcat also competed for the Track & Field team in his time as a student-athlete.
Northwest Missouri State’s Tony Miles is another one of the 78 candidates. Miles was a two-time First Team All-American who led the Bearcats to back-to-back Division II National Championships in 1998 through 1999. The wide receiver also leading the team to four straight MIAA titles while setting school and conference records in receiving yards, receptions and touchdowns.
“Tony was a huge part of our turnaround at Northwest,” Miles’ head coach Mel Tjeerdsma said. “We were 0-11 in 1994 and by the time he was done in 2000, we had captured two national titles in 1998 and 1999. In that 1999 national title game vs. Carson-Newman, Tony scored touchdowns three different ways via pass reception, kick return and rushing. He could hurt you in so many different ways on the field.”
Former Chiefs offensive coordinator and Colorado tailback, Eric Bieniemy, is the last but certainly not least of the trio of local ties on the ballot. The 1990 unanimous First-Team All-American finished third in the 1990 Heisman voting. He played in two national championships for the Buffs and led them to a 1990 title. Bieniemy, who spent the past 10 seasons on the Kansas City Chiefs coaching staff and the last five as offensive coordinator, still holds eight Colorado program records paired with his two All-Big Eight picks.
Another Kansas City notable name on the ballot is former quarterback Alex Smith. The University of Utah Ute was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft after earning first-team All-America honors in 2004 and topped off his career at Utah with 5,203 passing yards and 47 touchdowns along with two-time All-MWC and MWC Offensive Player of the Year selections. The 2005 Fiesta Bowl MVP went on to spend 16 seasons in the NFL with three Pro Bowl invitations and being named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year after returning to the field following a leg injury that almost took Smith’s life. Smith retired from the league in 2021.
The 2024 College Football Hall of Fame class will be officially inducted during the 66th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 10, 2024 in Atlanta at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame.
Copyright 2023 KCTV. All rights reserved.