Three forever Buffs named to College Football Hall of Fame ballot

A trio of 90s players hoping for a call to the hall this year

RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

The National Football Foundation and the College Hall of Fame announced the names on the 2024 ballot to make up next year’s class.

A list of 78 players including three from Colorado with ties to the 1990’s Championship era. Eric Bieniemy, Deon Figures and Matt Russell made the short list of candidates. Each of them have a respectable resume and could etch their names into the Atlanta hall one day.

Bieniemy has spent time floating around the NFL as one of the league’s top offensive coordinators. He won two Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs before taking on the same position with the Washington Commanders. An elite running back for the Buffs, who finished third in the 1990 Heisman voting.

Figures was Bieniemy’s teammate throughout his time, including the team’s run to a National Championship in 1990. The standout cornerback locked down receivers and put them on an island with 13 INTs in his career. He was CU’s first Thorpe Award winner in 1992 before Chris Hudson took it home two years later in 1994.

Russell is known around Colorado for his work with the Denver Broncos. However, the longtime NFL front office guru became CU’s all-time leading tackler, and the second Butkus Award winner in school history. Like Bieniemy, Russell also has a pair of Super Bowl rings with the Broncos and New England Patriots. He rejoined the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022 as a senior personnel executive.

The 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be announced later this year.