Alfred Williams Named to HOF Ballot - University of Colorado Athletics

BOULDER?Former University of Colorado linebacker Alfred Williams was one of 75 players and eight coaches on the ballot for the 2008 College Football Hall of Fame announced Tuesday.

Williams was a unanimous first-team All-American as a senior in 1990 and a consensus first-teamer as a junior in 1989. He became the first CU player to win a postseason trophy when he was honored with the Butkus Award as the nation’s most outstanding linebacker his senior season. A two-time first-team All-Big Eight Conference performer as a junior and senior, he was also the All-Big Eight’s Defensive Player-of-the-Year both seasons.

“I think it was a little overwhelming at first,” Williams said in an interview with KUSA Channel 9 News. “I tried to play around with it...[and I became] aware of how big of a deal it really was and it started to sink in. It’s a pretty big honor,”

A name synonymous with football greatness in the state of Colorado, Williams not only helped to bring CU its first National Championship in 1990, but he went on to star in the NFL and won two Super Bowl rings with the Denver Broncos in 1997 and 1998.

The Football Bowl Subdivision Hall of Fame Class will be announced live on ESPNEWS at a press conference in New York City’s Waldorf=Astoria on May 1. They will be officially enshrined at the Hall in South Bend, Ind., in the summer of 2009.

To be put on the ballot is an achievement in itself. The College Football Hall of Fame is an elite group in less than .0002 percent or just 829 of 4.6 million individuals who have played in the college ranks have achieved the status. About 12 of the 75 players on the ballot will be enshrined this year.

“If it happens it would be great,” Williams said. “But I’ll tell you what, it was just a pleasure to participate and play and be part of a group and a team at the University of Colorado that was able to do some great things for the state of Colorado. It was a wonderful time and I would be remised if I didn’t mention all the guys who played on those squads...there were just a host of guys who were great football players.”