Former Longhorn Dan Neil Nominated for College Football Hall of Fame

Former Texas Longhorns great Dan Neil's name is included on this year's College Football Hall of Fame ballot.

The Houston native started all 49 games of his four-year career on the Forty Acres, good for the fifth-longest starting streak in school history. He was a first-team All American in both of his last two years on campus and a consensus All American as a senior.

“It’s an enormous honor to just be on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot considering more than 5.4 million people have played college football and only 1,027 players have been inducted,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “The Hall’s requirement of being a First-Team All-American creates a much smaller pool of about 1,500 individuals who are even eligible. Being in today’s elite group means an individual is truly among the greatest to have ever played the game, and we look forward to announcing the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class Presented by ETT early next year.”

During his junior year he helped the Texas Longhorns win the final Southwest Conference Championship.

His senior campaign was even better. Neil served as the team captain and won the Team MVP Award while helping lead the Burnt Orange to the first-ever Big 12 Conference Championship. He would also finish as a semifinalist for the Lombardi Award and a finalist for the Outland Trophy - both awards were won by future NFL Hall of Famer Orlando Pace.

Neil was taken in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. He would go on to start 104 games over a career that spanned from 1997-2004. During that time Neil won a pair of Super Bowl rings and played alongside Hall of Famers like Gary Zimmerman, John Elway, Terrell Davis and Shannon Sharpe.

"When I was on the field with these guys, I was the one just trying not to screw it up," Neil wrote in an article penned for 247Sports back in 2017. "I learned how to play the game from these guys. Their influence was what led to me having an eight-year career in the NFL."

Neil is already a member of the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor after being inducted back in 2008.

He ran for the Texas House of Representatives in 2010, but lost in a narrow defeat to incumbent Donna Howard.

His son David Neil was a standout for the Westlake football team last season.

The 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class Presented by ETT will be officially inducted during the 64th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 7, 2021, at the New York Hilton Midtown. They will also be honored at their respective schools with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the 2021 season.

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