Ken Norton Jr., John Lee Represent UCLA on College Football Hall of Fame Ballot

The Bruins have a Super Bowl champion linebacker and a record-breaking kicker up for one of the highest honors in college sports.

Two Bruins are one step closer to adding another notch to their belts almost 40 years after leaving Westwood.

The National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame announced the players and coaches on the ballot for induction into the hall of fame on Monday, with former UCLA football linebacker Ken Norton Jr. and kicker John Lee on the list. There were 80 players and nine coaches from the FBS level who were added to the ballot, plus another 96 players and 33 coaches from the division ranks.

New UCLA defensive coordinator Bill McGovern was also on the ballot as a player, honoring his career as a defensive back at Holy Cross.

Coach Bill McGovern is also on the 2023 College Football Hall of Fame ballot for his playing career at Holy Cross! pic.twitter.com/irAq3n6rDt

— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) June 6, 2022

Norton and Lee have been on the ballot multiple times in the past, but they have not made the cut on their most recent passes.

Last year did see one Bruin squeeze his way into the hall, as quarterback Cade McNown finally made it alongside the rest of the 2020 class following an extended COVID-19 delay.

Norton and Lee overlapped for two seasons in the 1980s, right in the thick of the Bruins' resurgence under coach Terry Donahue. UCLA won a bowl game in each of Norton's four seasons on the roster, and he broke the century mark in tackles in both 1986 and 1987 while leading the nation in the stat. Norton ranks sixth all-time in program history in tackles with 339 after capping off his collegiate career with an All-American appearance.

That was all before he went on to become an All-Pro linebacker in the NFL, where he also won three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. Earlier in 2022, Norton returned to Westwood as UCLA's new inside linebackers coach.

Lee, on the other hand, was an All-American in 1984 and consensus All-American his senior year in 1985. By the end of his time in blue and gold, Lee was the NCAA's all-time leader in extra points and field goals made.

On extra points alone, Lee was 135-of-136, at one point making 108 in a row. Lee's 390 career points are second in UCLA history, and he made it into the Bruins' own hall of fame in 2001.

Norton, Lee and McGovern's fate now lies in the hands of the more than 12,000 NFF members and current hall of famers, who have until June 30 to vote. The new members set to be inducted will be announced in early 2023. 

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