Three Penn State Legends on College Football Hall of Fame Ballot

Ki-Jana Carter, D.J. Dozier and Paul Posluszny among the players eligible for the 2024 class.

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Is 2024 the year for Penn State's Ki-Jana Carter, D.J. Dozier or Paul Posluszny to be voted into the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame? All three Lions legends return to the ballot this year and could join the 20 former Penn State players and coaches enshrined in the hall.

Carter, Dozier and Posluszny are among 78 players and nine coaches from FBS programs on the 2024 Hall of Fame ballot. Voting continues through June 30, and the class will be announced early next year. The 2023 Hall of Fame class will be enshrined at the NFF's annual banquet in December in Las Vegas.

Carter is a strong candidate for 2024 consideration, having been on the ballot for multiple years. He was a 1994 first-team All-American and Heisman Trophy runnerup (to Colorado's Rashaan Salaam) after rushing for 1,539 yards and 23 touchdowns that season. Carter led the Big Ten in rushing yards per game (139.9), all-purpose yards (158.4) and scoring (10.8 points). After his electric performance in the Rose Bowl, Carter was the No. 1 overall pick of the 1995 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Dozier, the only running back to lead Penn State in rushing for four consecutive years, began his career with a 1,000-yard rushing season as a freshman. He was a first-team All-American in 1986, leading Penn State to its second national championship and capping a career during which he rushed for 3,227 yards. Dozier, a first-round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings, also played minor league baseball in the New York Mets organization.

Posluszny is a two-time winner of the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation's top defensive player and also won the Butkus Award, which recognizes the best linebacker in college football. He was a two-time All-American and the first player to lead Penn State in tackles for three consecutive seasons. Posluszny also is among 11 NFF National Scholar-Athletes on the ballot.

Posluszny seeks to become the first Penn State linebacker inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame since Shane Conlan in 2014. Penn State's last Hall of Fame inductee was quarterback Kerry Collins in 2018.

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