Purdue Coordinator Anthony Poindexter Headed to the College Football Hall of Fame
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A Boilermaker is going to the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. Co-defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter, who oversees the secondary, was notified Tuesday night that he will be inducted into the Hall this year.
Poindexter, a Lynchburg, Va., native, was named Virginia’s high school defensive player of the year in 1993, after leading his team to two consecutive state championships. He went on to play safety at the University of Virginia in the fall of 1995.
Poindexter, or “Dex,” is best known for what he did during his redshirt freshman season with the Cavaliers. He assisted a game-winning stop to defeat Florida State, the first ever ACC loss for the Seminoles.
He was named as an All-American in 1997 after having 78 tackles in a single season. Poindexter’s jersey was later retired at UVA. He entered the NFL draft in 1999 and played three seasons in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens.
He coached at Virginia and Connecticut before settling in West Lafayette. During his 2014-2016 tenure with the Huskies, Poindexter coached alongside then-head coach Bob Diaco. Poindexter joined the Purdue coaching staff in 2017 during Jeff Brohm’s inaugural season. He played a major role in lowering opponent’s points allowed by almost 18 per game.
Poindexter is far from selfish about his honor. He chalks it up to all the people who helped develop him along the way.
“It’s great. But there’s a lot of people who helped me get here,” Poindexter said after practice on Wednesday. “Obviously my family and all the coaches I’ve had, all the way up through youth and all the way through college and my teammates.”
Poindexter was first nominated during his time with UVA. He remembers telling previous Virginia head coach George Welsh about his nomination.
“He was like ‘you’re not going to get in, not on this first time,’” said Poindexter with a laugh. “[He said] You’re going to get in. Not this first time, but you’re going to get in.”
Welsh passed away this time last year, and Poindexter spoke on how special it was to get in to the Hall of Fame near the anniversary of Welsh’s death.
“I really owe it to him,” Pointdexter said on Wednesday. “He said it was going to happen, and here it is a year later.”
The full list of names was announced Tuesday including 14 All-Americans from the mid-1960s to the early 2000s. Poindexter will join the legends Eric Dickerson and Steve McNair in the 2020 College Hall of Fame class at the annual banquet on Dec. 8 in Atlanta.
