Former Clemson DB Donnell Woolford on College Football Hall of Fame ballot

Woolford was a two-time First Team All-American, earning consensus honors as a senior in 1988. (Clemson athletics file photo)

Press Release · Monday, June 02 2025

IRVING, Texas (June 2, 2025) – The National Football Foundation (NFF) announced today the names on the 2026 Ballot under consideration for induction into the NFF College Football Hall of Fame, including 79 players and nine coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 100 players and 35 coaches from the divisional ranks.

Former Clemson defensive back Donnell Woolford is among the nominees this year:

Donnell Woolford, Clemson-Defensive Back-Two-time First Team All-American, earning consensus honors as a senior in 1988…Two-time First Team All-ACC selection who led the Tigers to three league titles…Holds Clemson records for career PBU (44) and punt returns for a TD in a career (2).

Woolford was honored as an ACC legend in 2014.

The ballot was emailed today to the more than 12,000 NFF members and current NFF Hall of Famers whose votes will be tabulated and submitted to the NFF's Honors Court, which will deliberate and select the class.

The Honors Court, chaired by NFF Board Member and NFF College Football Hall of Famer Archie Griffin from Ohio State, includes an elite and geographically diverse pool of athletic administrators, NFF Hall of Famers and members of the media.

The announcement of the 2026 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class will be made in early 2026, with specific details to be announced in the future.

The 2026 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted during the 68th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 8, 2026, at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino, and they will be honored at their respective schools with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the 2026 season.

Of the 5.78 million individuals who have played college football since Princeton first battled Rutgers on Nov. 6, 1869, only 1,111 players have earned induction into the NFF College Football Hall of Fame, or less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of those who have played the game during the past 155 seasons. From the coaching ranks, 237 individuals have achieved NFF Hall of Fame distinction.

There are eight NFF National Scholar-Athletes on the 2026 Ballot, including FBS players Jeff Bregel (USC), Brad Culpepper (1991 Campbell Trophy® recipient from Florida), DeMeco Ryans (Alabama), Manti Te'o (Notre Dame) and Jonathan Vilma (Miami, FL). The divisional NFF National Scholar-Athlete nominees on the 2026 Ballot include Keith Elias (Princeton), Gerald Quinlivan (Buffalo), and Thomas Stenglein (Colgate).

The NFF has recognized 938 NFF National Scholar-Athletes since 1959, and only 49 have earned the distinction as both an NFF Hall of Famer and an NFF National Scholar-Athlete, creating arguably one of the most unique and elite groups in all of sports. And of those 49 dual honorees, only Alex Mack (Cal), Peyton Manning (Tennessee), Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia), Tim Tebow (Florida) and Danny Wuerffel (Florida) have also claimed The William V. Campbell Trophy®.