3 Reasons Why Todd Lyght, Manti Te'o Will Get Into the College Football Hall of Fame

Notre Dame legends Todd Lyght and Mant Te'o are on the ballot for the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame class. Will they get the call to the Hall - and should they?

Jan 7, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Manti Te'o (5) warms up before the 2013 BCS Championship game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame legends Manti Te'o and Todd Lyght made the ballot for the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame class along with 75 other major college players and 212 coaches and players in all.

But will they get in this year or will they have to wait their turn? Before getting started, here's the criteria.

According to the National Football Foundation, to shorten and sum up how this works for the players:

1. A player must have been a First Team All-American on a list recognized by the NCAA.

No, Joe Montana can't make the College Football Hall of Fame.

2. He’s eligible ten years after his final year of playing.

3. Post-career citizenship is factored into the voting, and an extra boost is given to those who earned a degree.

Yes, O.J. Simpson is still in.

4. Players must have played within the last 50 years. So to be eligible for the 2025 class, the player had to have finished his career by 1975.

The inductees will be announced on December 9th, 2025 in Las Vegas by the National Football Foundation, but will Te'o and Lyght get the call?

Below are three reasons why they'll get in, and three more why they won't.

Todd Lyght, Cornerback, 1987-1990

Why Todd Lyght should be in the College Football Hall of Fame

- He was a two-time first team All-American in 1989 and 1990.

- A solid tackler as well as a top corner, he made 161 stops to go along with his 11 interceptions and 20.5 broken up passes.

- Along with the stats and the accolades, he was one of the defensive stars in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl win over West Virginia for the national championship.

More memorably, he came up with one of the iconic plays in Irish football history by breaking up the late two-point conversion attempt to seal the 31-30 win over Miami in that magical 1988 season.

Why Todd Lyght won't get into the College Football Hall of Fame (at least on this ballot)

- He never won a Thorpe Award as the nation's best defensive back. He was a finalist, but never won it.

- It's nitpicking, but that Thorpe Award thing matters. He was one of the best defensive backs of the era, but he was overshadowed by Deion Sanders, Bennie Blades, and Rickey Dixon - all Thorpe winners.

- This is a strong class of 77 players for the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame, and it might be tough to make the cut this time around as a defensive back. And why?

Thorpe Award winners Michael Huff (Texas, 2005), Chris Hudson (Colorado, 1994), Terence Newman (Kansas State, 2002), and Mark Carrier (USC, 1989) have been waiting their turns, too, along with the late Sean Taylor of Miami.

Will Todd Lyght get into the College Football Hall of Fame (at least on this ballot)?

50/50.

The College Football Hall of Fame voting is WEIRD. There are lots and lots and lots of voters for this, and it often times comes down to a popularity contest.

Lyght has been on the ballot, and so have several of the other defensive backs listed above. He deserves to be in, and this isn't a crazy-amazing class like past seasons when there was a Tebow or a Leinart or a Fitzgerald.

Aaron Donald, Michael Vick, Mark Ingram, Peter Warrick - they all should be locks, and Lyght should be, too, and didn't make it last year. Neither did Vick and Warrick.

Okay, I'll quit stalling. Will Todd Lyght make the College Football Hall of Fame? He's very, very close, but there are a limited number of players you can vote for. I'm guessing he just misses the cut.

Manti Te'o, Linebacker, 2009-2012

Why Manti Te'o should be in the College Football Hall of Fame

- 437 career tackles in four seasons, 8.5 sacks, 34 tackles for loss, seven interceptions (all picks in 2012), and six broken up passes. More than that ...

- He had a knack for the dramatic. He might not have completely carried the 2012 team to a BCS Championship appearance, but ... yeah, it sort of seems like he did.

The All-American had one of the best all-around seasons by any linebacker in college football history starting with ...

- The Butkus. He won the award as the nation's best linebacker, and took home the Maxwell and Walter Camp as the nation's best player, and finished second in the Heisman voting behind Johnny Manziel.

Why Manti Te'o won't get into the College Football Hall of Fame (at least on this ballot)

- Again, this might not be the biggest class of superstar college players, but there are a ton of all-timers on the list sitting in the College Football Hall of Fame waiting room.

No, he wasn't as decorated as Te'o, but Ohio State's James Laurinitis should've been a sure thing and still isn't in. Oklahoma's Rocky Calmus isn't in and he's a two-time All-American and fellow Butkus winner. Simeon Rice and Kevin Hardy of Illinois, Ken Norton Jr. of UCLA, and Takeo Spikes of Auburn are just some on the list.

- It's totally not fair, but ... catfish. It's horrible, but that's what too many people know him for now, helped out by Netflix.

- Why won't he get in? Remember, thousands of voters take part in this College Football Hall of Fame ballot. Again, lots of players tend to miss out on the first time voting, and Te'o - because he wasn't amazing in the NFL - doesn't quite have the star power ten years after his college days.

Will Manti Te'o get into the College Football Hall of Fame (at least on this ballot)?

I might be totally missing that it's Notre Dame, it's a legendary player, and Te'o gets in with ease, but ...

I'm taking a big swing here and saying no, but he'll get in on next year's ballot.

I voted for him over Johnny Manziel for the top spot on my 2012 Heisman ballot, and believe he should be a no-question, no-doubt, must-be-in College Football Hall of Fame shoo-in.

But let's just say the College Football Hall of Fame process isn't great at getting the right players in every year.