The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class that includes Kenneth Sims (Texas), Darren Sproles (Kansas State) and Bob Stoops (Oklahoma).
 
The 11 First Team All-America players and two standout coaches in the 2021 Class were selected from the national ballot of 78 players and seven coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and the 99 players and 33 coaches from the divisional ranks.
 
The 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class will officially be inducted during the 63rd NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 7 alongside the 2020 Hall of Fame Class (the 2020 event was canceled due to COVID-19).
 
The inductees will also be recognized at their respective collegiate institutions with NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the fall. Their accomplishments will forever be immortalized at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, and each inductee will receive a custom ring created by Jostens, the official and exclusive supplier of NFF rings and awards.
   
Kenneth Sims was so dominant in 1981 that he became Texas’ first-ever winner of the Lombardi Award, despite being sidelined following the ninth game of the season due to injury. The Groesbeck, Texas, native becomes the 20th Longhorn player to enter the College Football Hall of Fame
 
A two-time First Team All-American, Sims earned unanimous honors as a senior and consensus laurels as a junior. The 1981 UPI Lineman of the Year finished eighth for the Heisman Trophy, receiving three first-place votes. Sims’ 23 tackles for loss that season were a then-school record. He also led Texas to four wins over top 15 teams during his stellar senior campaign, including a 12-tackle performance in a decisive 34-14 win over No. 10 Oklahoma.
 
The two-time consensus First Team All-Southwest Conference selection led the Longhorns to four consecutive postseason berths, including wins in the 1978 Sun Bowl and the 1982 Cotton Bowl. The 1981 team captain guided Texas to three top 25 finishes: No. 9 in 1978, No. 12 in 1979 and No. 2 in 1981. The two-time team MVP boasts the Longhorn record with 15 career forced fumbles. On the Texas career charts, Sims ranks fourth in sacks (29), fifth in fumble recoveries (seven) and ninth in tackles for loss (50). His other honors include the 1981 Houston Post SWC Defensive MVP Trophy and a 1982 NCAA Today’s Top V Award. Sims was inducted into the University of Texas Athletics Hall of Honor in 1997.
 
The first overall pick in the 1982 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, Sims spent his entire pro career with the franchise from 1982-89. He helped guide the team to an appearance in Super Bowl XX following the 1985 season.
 
A dedicated supporter of Texas Athletics, Sims has participated in numerous letterman functions. He is also an annual volunteer for the Grays Harbor Football Camp, a free youth event. Now retired, Sims resides in Round Rock, Texas.  
One of the most electric and prolific runners in college football history, Darren Sproles ranks as Kansas State’s all-time leading rusher holding more than 20 school and conference records. The Olathe, Kansas, native becomes the third Wildcat player in the College Football Hall of Fame.
 
A First Team All-American in 2003, Sproles finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting after leading the nation with 1,986 rushing yards. A three-time All-Big 12 performer, he earned first team honors in 2003 and 2004 and second team accolades in 2002. In 2003, Sproles led K-State to the Big 12 title, its first conference title since 1934, after posting 345 all-purpose yards, catching a 60-yd touchdown pass and rushing for a Big 12 Championship Game record 235 yards in an upset win over No. 1 Oklahoma. One of three finalists for the 2003 AP Player of the Year, he earned Honorable Mention All-America honors in 2002, and he led the FBS in all-purpose yards (2,067) in 2004. The 2003 Doak Walker Award finalist led the Wildcats to three postseason berths, including a win in the 2002 Holiday Bowl, and two top-15 finishes in 2002 (No. 7) and 2003 (No. 14).
 
Playing for College Football Hall of Fame Coach Bill Snyder, Sproles finished his career 11th all-time in rushing and sixth all-time in all-purpose yards in NCAA history. A member of the K-State Football Ring of Honor, he left Manhattan with 28 single-game, single-season or career records, 21 of which are still standing. The senior team captain boasts program career records for rushing yards (4,979), all-purpose yards (6,812), rushing attempts (815), rushing yards per carry (6.11), 100-yard rushing games (24) and consecutive 100-yard rushing games (10). Sproles still holds three of the top five single-season rushing performances in school history, including the top mark of 1,986 in 2003. His 2,735 all-purpose yards in 2003 are a Big 12 and K-State single-season record, and he also holds conference records for career 100-yard games and career all-purpose yards.
 
A fourth-round pick by the San Diego Chargers in the 2005 NFL Draft, Sproles played 15 seasons in the league with the Chargers (2005-10), New Orleans Saints (2011-13) and Philadelphia Eagles (2014-19). The three-time Pro Bowl selection was a member of the Eagles team that won Super Bowl LII. Currently ranked sixth in NFL history with 19,696 all-purpose yards, Sproles set the single-season league record with 2,696 in 2011.
 
Giving back to the community, Sproles has funded football and life skills camps for at-risk youth in Kansas and San Diego. He also helped a family in New Orleans rebuild their home. Sproles currently works as a personnel consultant for the Eagles.
   
Oklahoma’s all-time winningest coach, Bob Stoops is the only coach in history to win a national championship and all four BCS bowl games. He posted a 79.8 winning percentage during his remarkable 18-year tenure, returning the Sooners to one of the elite programs in college football. Stoops is the sixth Oklahoma coach to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
 
Prior to his arrival at Oklahoma, the proud Sooner program was five years removed from a winning record and hadn’t produced double-digit victories since 1987. Coaching at Oklahoma from 1999-2016, Stoops never had a losing record en route to a school record 190 career wins, including 14 seasons of 10-plus victories (the most of an FBS coach from 2000-16). He led the Sooners to four BCS National Championship Game appearances, winning the 2000 national title after a perfect 13-0 season that culminated with a win over Florida State in the Orange Bowl. Leading OU to a bowl game in each of his 18 seasons (a school record), Stoops claimed nine postseason victories, including wins in the Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Rose and Sugar bowls. The sixth-fastest coach to ever reach 150 wins (187 games), he guided the Sooners to top 25 finishes in all but three seasons, including seven top five rankings.
 
A two-time national coach of the year and six-time Big 12 Coach of the Year, Stoops led Oklahoma to 10 Big 12 titles while posting an impressive 121-29 (.807) conference record during his career. His teams averaged 10.6 wins per season, and he owned a 101-9 home record, with wins in each of his first 37 games at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Stoops' 2008 team went down as the highest scoring team in college football history, scoring a total of 716 points and averaging 51 points per game. A combined 25-11 against the Sooners’ biggest rivals Oklahoma State and Texas, he also posted a 66.7 winning percentage vs. AP Top 25 teams, the best in the country during his reign at OU.
 
Stoops coached 38 First Team All-Americans at Oklahoma, including seven Heisman Trophy finalists and two winners in Jason White (2003) and Sam Bradford (2008). He also coached three NFF National Scholar-Athletes, including 2015 Campbell Trophy® recipient Ty Darlington. In 2019, Stoops was inducted into the OU Sports Hall of Fame.
 
A four-year starter at Iowa under College Football Hall of Fame Coach Hayden Fry, Stoops excelled in 1982 as a team captain, First Team All-Big Ten selection and Iowa’s MVP. The Youngstown, Ohio, native began his coaching career as an assistant under Fry at Iowa, followed by a stint at Kent State. After coaching under Hall of Famer Bill Snyder at Kansas State, he joined Hall of Famer Steve Spurrier’s staff and helped the Gators win the 1996 national title as defensive coordinator.
 
In 2001, he started the Bob Stoops Champions Foundation to provide support to children and families in the Norman and Oklahoma City areas. In 2018, Stoops joined with current OU head coach Lincoln Riley and College Football Hall of Fame Coach Barry Switzer to create the HBC Champions Foundation to supply financial contributions, positive experiences and support to ill or disadvantaged children in Oklahoma. After briefly coming out of retirement in 2020 to coach the Dallas Renegades in the XFL, he now serves as a special assistant to the athletics director at OU.