E.J. Junior Selected for Induction to College Football Hall of Fame

Former Alabama defensive line E.J. Junior becomes the 19th Crimson Tide player to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame

Christopher Walsh, BamaCentral

University of Alabama football legend E.J. Junior has been selected for induction to the College Football Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Football Hall of Fame announced Wednesday on ESPN2’s SportsCenter.

An imposing threat on the defensive line, E.J. Junior led Alabama to two national championships as part of a remarkable four years in Tuscaloosa.

A unanimous First Team All-American in 1980, Junior was a finalist for the Lombardi Award and helped guide Alabama to consecutive national championships in 1978 and 1979. Junior and the 1979 Crimson Tide squad went 12-0, winning the program’s third straight Sugar Bowl and completing a run of eight SEC Championships in nine years. He was part of only four losses during his Alabama career, helping the Tide post an astounding 44-4 record, which included a 28-game winning streak, while never finishing lower than No. 6 in the national rankings.

The three-time First Team All-SEC selection capped his career in a dominant 30-2 win over Baylor in the 1981 Cotton Bowl. Selected as the 1980 SEC Lineman of the Year by both the Atlanta Touchdown Club and the Birmingham Monday Morning Quarterback Club, Junior was the leader of a defense that allowed only 98 points during his senior campaign and just 67 in 1979. He racked up 190 tackles and 21 sacks for the Crimson Tide while playing alongside Hall of Famers Marty Lyons and Ozzie Newsome, and his 10 career forced fumbles are tied for the school record. Junior is enshrined in the Senior Bowl, State of Alabama Sports and State of Tennessee halls of fame.

The fifth overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft, Junior was a two-time Pro Bowl selection while playing with the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals (1981-88). He subsequently played for the Miami Dolphins (1989-91), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1992) and Seattle Seahawks (1992-93).

Junior became an ordained minister after retiring from the NFL while also entering the coaching ranks. He started out as a linebackers coach with the Seahawks and had stints with the Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars and Rhein Fire of NFL Europe. After time as an assistant at Southwest Baptist (Mo.), Junior served as the head coach at Central State (Ohio) from 2009-13, and he was later an assistant and interim head coach at Delaware State.

The Nashville, Tenn., native becomes the 19th Crimson Tide to be inducted, joining Cornelius Bennett (1983-86), Johnny Mack Brown (1923-25), John Cain (1930-32), Harry Gilmer (1944-47), John Hannah (1970-72), Dixie Howell (1932-34), Pooley Hubert (1922-25), Don Hutson (1932-34), Lee Roy Jordan (1960-62), Woodrow Lowe (1972-75), Marty Lyons (1975-78), Vaughn Mancha (1944-47), Johnny Musso (1969-71), Billy Neighbors (1959-61), Ozzie Newsome (1974-77), Fred Sington (1928-30), Riley Smith (1933-35) and Derrick Thomas (1985-88). Four coaches with stops in Tuscaloosa are in the Hall: Paul "Bear" Bryant (1958-82), Gene Stallings (1990-96), Frank Thomas (1931-42, 1944-46) and Wallace Wade (1923-30).

The 2020 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted during the 63rd NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 8 at the New York Hilton Midtown. 

College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020

• Lomas Brown - OT, Florida (1981-84)
• Keith Byars - RB, Ohio State (1982-85)
• Eric Crouch - QB, Nebraska (1998-2001)
• Eric Dickerson - RB, Southern Methodist (1979-82)
• Glenn Dorsey - DT, LSU (2004-07)
• Jumbo Elliott - OT, Michigan (1984-87)
• Jason Hanson - PK, Washington State (1988-91)
• E.J. Henderson - LB, Maryland (1999-2002)
• E.J. Junior - DE, Alabama (1977-80)
• Steve McNair - QB, Alcorn State (1991-94)
• Cade McNown - QB, UCLA (1995-98)
• Leslie O'Neal - DT, Oklahoma State (1982-85)
• Anthony Poindexter - DB, Virginia (1995-98)
• David Pollack - DE, Georgia (2001-04)
• Bob Stein - DE, Minnesota (1966-68)
• Michael Westbrook - WR, Colorado (1991-94)
• Elmo Wright - WR, Houston (1968-70)

COACHES:

• Dick Sheridan - 121-52-5 (69.4%); Furman (1978-85), North Carolina State (1986-92)
• Andy Talley - 258-155-2 (62.4%); St. Lawrence [NY] (1979-83), Villanova (1985-2016)

This story will be updated