MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A pair of Mountaineer legends are being considered for the College Football Hall of Fame once again.
The National Football Foundation released its full ballot for the Class of 2024 Monday, which includes the late WVU coach Jim Carlen and former Mountaineer cornerback Aaron Beasley. Carlen and Beasley are two of 87 total candidates on the ballot.
Players become eligible for the ballot 10 seasons after their final collegiate game if they received First Team All-American honors.
Coaches, however, become eligible three seasons after their retirement or immediately after their retirement if he is 70 years old. Nominees must hold a .600 winning percentage for at least 10 years and 100 games at the helm.
Carlen coached WVU to a 25-13-3 record in four seasons in Morgantown that included a first-place finish in the Southern Conference in 1967, and a Peach Bowl victory in 1969. He finished his career with a 107-69-6 record with stops at Texas Tech and South Carolina. He died in 2012 at 79 years old.
Beasley holds the single-season record in interceptions with his 10-pick campaign in 1994. He led the nation in interceptions that year. He tallied 19 interceptions, three of which went for touchdowns, in his 43-game career at WVU.
In those 43 games, he made 36 consecutive starts at cornerback. He recorded 143 tackles – 97 of them being solo – in a three-year stint that saw him become one of the best defensive players in Mountaineer history.
“Being on the ballot is a huge honor, and all of the names seen here rank among the greatest players to ever set foot on the collegiate gridiron,” NFF chairman Archie Manning said in a release. “The membership vote plays an important role, providing key insights to the NFF Honors Court, which makes the final decision on the inductees.”
Former WVU coach Frank Cignetti was the last Mountaineer to be inducted, and the 13th former WVU player or coach to be in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Voting is done by NFF members and current Hall of Famers. Inductees will be announced in January of 2024.