Longhorns Michael Huff and Dan Neil Nominated for 2025 College Football Hall of Fame

Former defensive back Michael Huff and offensive Lineman Dan Neil were nominated alongside over 200 former players and coaches for the prestigious award.

Jan 1, 2005; Pasadena, CA, USA: FILE PHOTO; Michigan Wolverines tight end Tim Massaquoi (88) in action against Texas Longhorns cornerback Michael Huff (7) during the 2005 Rose Bowl at the Rose Bowl. The Longhorns defeated the Wolverines 38-37. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Network / USA TODAY Sports

Former Texas Longhorns Michael Huff (2002-05) and Dan Neil (1993-96) are among a ballot of 77 players from former Bowl Subdivision teams for potential inclusion in the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame class.

The National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame creates a yearly hall of fame class that includes players and coaches from all levels of the sport. The foundation announced on Monday that the ballot would include over 230 former athletes and coaches from many divisions of the sport, all with the chance of joining the illustrious College Football Hall of Fame. 

Last year’s class inducted 19 former players, none from Texas. The last Longhorn to join the elite group was Derrick Johnson in 2023, joining the 21 other former Longhorns including the likes of Vince Young and Ricky Williams.

Huff was a 2005 All-American safety for the Longhorns who scored four touchdowns from the defensive side of the ball in his four seasons with the Longhorns. Along with the consensus All-American nomination, Huff won the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the most outstanding defensive back in the nation, and was drafted seventh overall in the 2006 NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders. 

Huff will never be forgotten among Texas fans for his contributions to the title-winning team in 2005. In the Rose Bowl, with a national championship on the line, Huff recorded 12 tackles, one for loss and a fumble recovery. His most notable play came late in the game on fourth down, where Huff made a sensational open-field tackle that set up the game-winning drive. Vince Young did the rest. 

Huff was a four-year starter who also competed in Track and Field. The Irving native would go on to play seven years in the NFL, almost entirely in Oakland, where he registered 11 interceptions and over 400 tackles. Huff was enshrined in 2015 in the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor, and the current player development assistant will look to add to his fantastic resume this year.

Neil was also a four-year starter for the Longhorns on the interior of the offensive line, anchoring the blocking for much of quarterback James Brown’s career. When Neil retired, his 49 consecutive starts was second all-time among Longhorn players, having started every game of his career. 

The offensive lineman was a consensus All-American in 1996 and was a finalist for the Outland trophy, given to the most outstanding lineman in the nation. His efforts as a captain and team MVP in 1996 brought Texas its first Big 12 championship in the first year of the conference’s existence. 

Neil was drafted in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos and started for seven of his eight NFL seasons, all with Denver. He won two Super Bowls with the team and was inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor in 2008.

The 2025 class will be inducted in the early stages of 2025, with no official date set out yet. Recipients will be forever remembered in the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia and Texas hopes to add two more players to that list of legends in the sport.