SMU’s Eric Dickerson finally goes into College Hall of Fame

LAS VEGAS — Make nary mistake. Eric Dickerson is gladsome to beryllium going into the College Football Hall of Fame aft each these years. He volition instrumentality the signifier and beryllium cemented successful the sport’s lore.

“Am I blessed to beryllium here? Yeah,” Dickerson said Tuesday. “Do I truly care? No, honestly.”

The erstwhile SMU moving back, who played for the Mustangs from 1979-82, was 1 of 27 players invited to Tuesday’s induction ceremonial successful Las Vegas. Dickerson was voted into the 2020 class, but the ceremonial was canceled owed to the pandemic.

Other inductees included Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Eric Crouch, erstwhile Eastern Illinois backmost and existent CBS expert Tony Romo, and longtime Oklahoma manager Bob Stoops.

It’s an grant agelong overdue to Dickerson. The Pro Football Hall of Famer ran for 4,450 yards and 47 touchdowns astatine SMU, going from a 5-6 squad arsenic a freshman to an 11-0-1 nine that won the Cotton Bowl his elder year.

But the school’s estimation was tarnished aft the NCAA handed down the “death penalty” successful 1987 for aggregate violations that occurred earlier Dickerson arrived astatine SMU, up until 1986. Part of that contention was Dickerson being fixed a sports car astatine astir the aforesaid clip helium committed to Texas A&M earlier yet switching to SMU.

Dickerson has maintained the car was a acquisition from his grandmother.

“We had thing to bash with that decease penalty,” Dickerson told the AP, referring to himself and “Pony Express” teammate Craig James. “That’s the travesty of the full deal. People person the inclination to deliberation I had thing to bash with it. We were a clump of young kids.”

By the clip the NCAA punished SMU, Dickerson was already a record-breaking moving backmost successful the NFL. His 2,105 rushing yards successful the 1984 season, his 2nd with the Rams, is inactive the league’s single-season record.

Dickerson was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame successful 1999 aft finishing his 12-year vocation with 13,259 yards, presently ninth-best successful NFL history.

“It’s bittersweet,” helium said. “I look astatine my assemblage due to the fact that they made america similar the achromatic oculus of the NCAA. And I conscionable don’t similar that. I’m honorable astir it.”

Dickerson is inactive arrogant to beryllium an SMU alum and appreciative for the schoolhouse to helping him and his household get to Las Vegas for the opportunity, adjacent if it’s astir 40 years since helium played shot successful Dallas.

“I cognize wherefore they held maine retired due to the fact that of the decease penalty, but I’m arrogant of my school,” Dickerson said. “Leaving college, astir of these kids don’t person anything. And that’s their accidental to assistance themselves and get an acquisition if they don’t play football. I didn’t person a program to play nonrecreational football. It conscionable broke out.

“The information is going to ever travel out. I’m truly blessed to correspond my assemblage and I’m arrogant of it. I’m gladsome I went to SMU.

WELCOME CLASS

The afloat 2020 class:

Florida violative tackle Lomas Brown; Ohio State moving backmost Keith Byars; Nebraska Heisman Trophy victor Eric Crouch; LSU antiaircraft tackle Glenn Dorsey; Michigan violative tackle Jumbo Elliott; Washington State kicker Jason Hanson; Maryland linebacker E.J. Henderson; Alabama antiaircraft extremity EJ. Junior; precocious Alcorn State backmost Steve McNair; UCLA backmost Cade McNown; Oklahoma State antiaircraft tackle Leslie O’Neal; Virginia antiaircraft backmost Anthony Poindexter; Georgia antiaircraft extremity and ESPN announcer David Pollack; Minnesota antiaircraft extremity Bob Stein; Colorado receiver Michael Westbrook; Houston receiver Elmo Wright; Dick Sheridan, manager astatine Furman and North Carolina State; and Villanova manager Andy Talley.

The 2021 class:

North Carolina violative tackle Harris Barton; Arizona State antiaircraft backmost David Fulcher; Miami linebacker Dan Morgan; USC backmost and Heisman victor Carson Palmer; Texas antiaircraft tackle Kenneth Sims; Clemson moving backmost C.J. Spiller; Kansas State moving backmost Darren Sproles; Notre Dame violative tackle Aaron Taylor; Iowa antiaircraft extremity Andre Tippett; Tennessee linebacker Al Wilson; Florida A&M manager Rudy Hubbard; and Oklahoma manager Bob Stoops.