Steve Slaton Selected to Enter the College Football Hall of Fame

Former West Virginia University running back Steve Slaton becomes the seventh Mountaineer player to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.
Nov 17, 2007; Cincinnati, OH, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers running back (10) Steve Slaton runs in the first half against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Nippert Stadium.
Nov 17, 2007; Cincinnati, OH, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers running back (10) Steve Slaton runs in the first half against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Nippert Stadium. / Frank Victores-Imagn Images

Wednesday afternoon, the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame announced former West Virginia University running back Steve Slaton as a member of the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame Class.

Slaton finished his WVU career with 3,923 rushing yards and 50 touchdowns and added 805 receiving yards. He earned All-Big East honors all three seasons with a first team selection in 2006, and second team honors in ’05 and ’07.

Slaton burst onto the scene for the old gold and blue in 2005, notching his first 100-yard performance against Rutgers then followed it with five rushing touchdowns and 189 yards, with a receiving TD in the triple overtime win against Louisville. He capped off the season proving there was speed outside of the SEC and rushed for a bowl record 204 yards and three touchdowns for the 2006 Sugar Bowl MVP in the win against Georgia.

Slaton was a unanimous 2006 First Team All-American, finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting and as a finalist for the Doak Walker Award after setting the WVU single-season rushing record with 1,744 yards.

West Virginia went 33-5, including three bowl wins (2006 Sugar, 2007 Gator and 2008 Fiesta) and a pair of Big East Conference titles (’05 and ’07) during his time as a Mountaineer.

Slaton was selected in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans. He spent four years with the franchise before playing one final season in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins in 2011. He played with the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL for one season before retiring from football.

The Levittown, PA, native was was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.


Published
Christopher Hall
CHRISTOPHER HALL

Member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.