Ty Detmer Inducted into College Football Hall of Fame

2012 BYU signee Joshua Weeks also one of five honored Tuesday for HS achievements

NEW YORK (Dec. 4, 2012) — Ty Detmer became the seventh BYU Cougar to enter the College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday night when the 2012 Hall of Fame Class was officially inducted at the 55th National Football Foundation Annual Awards Dinner, held at New York City’s historic Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

The All-American quarterback and 1990 Heisman Trophy winner joins fellow Cougars Gordon Hudson (2009), LaVell Edwards (2004), Steve Young (2001), Jim McMahon (1998), Marc Wilson (1996) and Gifford Nielsen (1994) in being inducted into the prestigious Hall.

"I'm definitely very proud to be here," Detmer said Tuesday from New York City. "To me, there is nothing better than college football and all that goes along with it. I'm proud to be here to accept this award, and I think it's really representative of the team you played on and the coaches you played for and I'm proud to be representing that group."

In addition to Detmer, this year’s hall of fame class includes Charles Alexander (LSU), Otis Armstrong (Purdue), Steve Bartkowski (California), Hal Bedsole (Southern California), Dave Casper (Notre Dame), Tommy Kramer (Rice), Art Monk (Syracuse), Greg Myers (Colorado State), Jonathan Ogden (UCLA), Gabe Rivera (Texas Tech), Mark Simoneau (Kansas State), Scott Thomas (Air Force), John Wooten (Colorado), and coaches Phillip Fulmer (Tennessee), Jimmy Johnson (Oklahoma State, Miami [Fla.]) and R.C. Slocum (Texas A&M).


With a Heisman Trophy, a Maxwell Award, two Davey O'Brien Awards and 59 NCAA records, Detmer left BYU as one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in college football history. Detmer played quarterback for BYU from 1988-91 and is a member of the BYU Hall of Fame.



“There aren’t many more accomplished players in the history of college football than Ty Detmer,” said NFF President and CEO Steve Hatchell. “He just about did everything as a Cougar that a college quarterback can do. He is a truly deserving member of the College Football Hall of Fame.”



Twice named a consensus All-American, Detmer won national player of the year awards from organizations such as UPI, CBS, Scripps Howard and the U.S. Sports Academy. His 15,031 career passing yards and 121 touchdowns were NCAA bests at the time, and the gunslinger still holds nine NCAA records.

A three-time All-WAC First Team performer, Detmer led College Football Hall of Fame coach LaVell Edwards' teams to three conference championships, four bowl games, three AP top 25 finishes, a 28-21 win over top-ranked and defending national champion Miami on Sept. 8, 1990 and a 37-13-2 overall record. The NCAA Today's Top VI Award recipient still holds 10 school records, including the season and career marks for total offense, passing yards and 400-yard games.
 


Including the 2012 FBS class, only 918 players and 200 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly five million people who have played or coached the game over the past 144 years. In other words, only two ten-thousandths of one percent (.0002) of those who have set foot on the gridiron have earned the distinction. For a complete list of players and coaches in the hall, please visit www.collegefootball.org.

Another individual with BYU ties was honored Tuesday. Joshua Weeks, who signed a national letter of intent in 2012 to play football at BYU, was one of five winners of the 2012 NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Awards with each recipient selected as the best of the best from their region of the country at the high school level. 



"The NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Awards honor the absolute finest from the gridiron at the high school level," said NFF President & CEO Steven J. Hatchell. "The accomplishments of this year's five honorees clearly place them among the most elite student-athletes in the country. Their contributions both on and off the field set the standard for their peers to follow, and we are extremely proud to highlight their accomplishments on our national stage."

Selected from the 450,000 high school football players covered by the NFF Chapter Network, the five scholar-athletes were honored for their high school accomplishments during the NFF Chapter Awards Luncheon presented by Under Armour Tuesday at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. First bestowed in 1991, the NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Awards have become one of the most prestigious high school honors in the country. Criteria for the award include but are not limited to academic achievement, athletic accomplishments and leadership in the community.

An extremely productive performer in high school, Weeks earned four letters at Show Low High School while seeing playing time as a quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back. He was three times named an All-State and Max Preps All-American honoree.

Weeks participated in the inaugural Semper Fi All-American Bowl in 2011. With career marks of 187 receptions for 3,851 yards and 46 touchdowns, Weeks set multiple state records. He also set Arizona Class AAA single-season records in 2010 by posting 1,561 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns.

Weeks recorded a 4.0 GPA with numerous AP and honors courses, which placed him in the top 10 percent of his graduating class. He was a member of Show Low’s Principal 4.0 Honor Roll every semester of his high school career. A National Honor Society member, Weeks was named an All-American in football by the Arizona Coaches Association and the United Dairy Council of Arizona for his academic, personal and athletic excellence.

A Boy Scouts of America Eagle Scout, Weeks was a member of Student Council and a Pride Leader. He was a four-year letterman in basketball, where he earned Class AAA All-State Honorable Mention accolades. As a member of the track and field team he set school records in the 100, 200 and 400-meter dashes. He served as a three-year mentor at a camp for developmentally disabled adults and served as a scholastic mentor for fellow students.