Skip to main content

Torry Holt will become the sixth NC State player to officially enter the College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday at the National Football Foundation’s annual awards dinner in New York. Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren will join Holt and his family at the ceremony.

The 1998 ACC Player of the Year, Holt was a consensus first-team All-American as a senior and was the only receiver in the top 10 of the Heisman Trophy voting that season.

He still holds State’s school records for receiving yards in a career (3,379), season (1,604) and game (255 against Baylor in 1998). His 15 catches against Wake Forest in his senior season is also still tied for the most in school history and his 88 catches in 1998 stood as a Wolfpack record until 2018, when it was finally surpassed by Jakobi Meyers.

Holt earned first-team All-ACC honors twice in his career as a receiver and once as a punt returner.

In recognition of his career achievements, which include his induction into State’s Athletic Hall of Fame, his No. 81 jersey was retired. The Wolfpack’s Offensive MVP award is named in his honor.

State's five previous Hall of Famers are Ted Brown, Dennis Byrd, Roman Gabriel, Jack McDowall, Jim Ritcher.

Following his graduation from State, Holt was selected sixth overall in 1999 NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams, which whom he played for the next decade -- earning seven Pro Bowl selections and helping the Rams to a victory in Super Bowl XXXIV in his rookie season. A member of the NFL All-Decade Team for the 2000s, Holt retired from the league with the 10th most receiving yards in history.

Now out of football, Holt has returned to the Raleigh area, where he and his brother Terrence -- also a former Wolfpack star -- oversee a series of companies and charitable foundations.

Besides, Holt, the rest of this year’s College Football Hall of Fame class consists of Terrell Buckley (DB, Florida State, 1989-91), Rickey Dixon (DB, Oklahoma, 1984-87), London Fletcher (LB, John Carroll, 1995-97), Jacob Grey, DL, Texas A&M, 1977-79), Raghib Ismail (Notre Dame, KR/WR, 1988-90), Darren McFadden (RB, Arkansas, 2005-07), Jake Plummer (QB, Arizona St., 1993-96), Joe Thomas (OL, Wisconsin, 2003-06), Lorenzo White (RB, Michigan St., 1984-87), Patrick Willis (LB, Ole Miss, 2003-06) and Vince Young (QB, Texas, 2003-05), along with coaches Dennis Erickson and Joe Taylor.