Over the coming years, the Illinois football team is going to produced numerous great players.
These great players will help the Illini win games and go on to play in the NFL. While we wait for the development of these young players, it is also good to honor the greats of yesteryear.
On Monday afternoon, the National Football Foundation released the players on the ballot for the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame.
Illinois had two players make the cut to be on the ballot. The first name you get to is Kevin Hardy.
Hardy played at Illinois from 1992 through the 1995 season. He had a tremendous career with the Orange and Blue, earning All-Big Ten first team honors in 1994 and 1995. He was also a consensus All-American in 1995.
Joining Hardy on the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame is Simeon Rice. He also played for the Illini from 1992 through 1995.
Rice was another legend for the program. He was All-Big Ten each of the four seasons he was in Champaign, earning first-team honors in his final three seasons. He was also a first-team All-American in 1994 and 1995.
Voting for the College Football Hall of Fame will continue on through July 1.
Illinois football should have multiple players on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot down the road
While both Rice and Hardy were legends in the 1990s, Illinois will eventually have more players on the ballot down the road.
One of the main criteria to be in the College Football Hall of Fame is to have been a member of the first-team All-American. Your last college game had to have been at least a decade ago, too.
So, there are two eligible options for Illinois right now. J Leman in 2007 and Whitney Mercilus in 2011 were both consensus first-team All-Americans. They will probably pop up on the ballot in the next couple of years, I assume.
Illinois fans will have to wait until 2032 to get a chance to see Devon Witherspoon pop up on the ballot. Jer’Zhan Newton would then be eligible for the ballot in 2033. Both were consensus All-Americans as well.