Beamer, Brown selected to Hall of Fame
Coaches Frank Beamer and Mack Brown were selected Monday for the College Football Hall of Fame, part of a class of 13 that includes former players Ed Reed and Calvin Johnson.
Brown won 244 games in a 30-year head coaching career at four schools that featured 16 seasons and a national championship at Texas.
“To have been blessed to play the game for many years, then continue as a coach for 40 years, I was so fortunate to work with thousands of unbelievable student-athletes and amazing staff members,” Brown said in a statement. “It was absolutely a labor of love. Now to be able to represent so many tremendous people as a member of the College Football Hall of Fame is a tribute to a lot of great teamwork.”
Beamer built Virginia Tech football into a national power, taking over the program in 1987 and leading the Hokies to a BCS championship game in 1999. His 280 victories rank sixth in FBS history.
Beamer’s son, Shane, is an assistant coach with Georgia, which is playing Alabama in the College Football Playoff championship game on Monday night in Atlanta.
The rest of the class includes Trevor Cobb of Rice; Kerry Collins of Penn State; Dave Dickenson of Montana; Dana Howard of Illinois; Paul Palmer of Temple; Matt Stinchcomb of Georgia; Aaron Taylor of Nebraska; Matt Tjeerdsma, who coached Austin College and Northwest Missouri State; and Michigan’s Charles Woodson, whose selection was announced Sunday.
UCF STILL CELEBRATING UNDEFEATED SEASON >> UCF had a second straight day of celebrations for its undefeated season while receiving a proclamation from Florida’s governor declaring the Knights national champs.
In signing the proclamation, Gov. Rick Scott said: “Florida is home to the country’s best college football, and this season, UCF proved to the world that they can beat any team. By having a perfect season and beating the only team that defeated both Alabama and Georgia this season, the UCF Knights are clearly champions.”
The Knights were also honored with a pep rally and block party in downtown Orlando Monday evening during the run-up to the College Football Playoff final. On Sunday, the Knights receive a parade at Walt Disney World.
The Knights (13-0) capped the only perfect season in the Football Bowl Subdivision with a 34-27 victory over Auburn in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 1. WASHINGTON STATE HIRES CLAEYS AS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR >> Washington State has hired former Minnesota head coach Tracy Claeys to be defensive coordinator.
Claeys will replace Alex Grinch, who left for Ohio State after turning the Cougars defense into one of the best in the Pac-12. Washington State was No. 2 in total defense in the conference this season.
Claeys, 49, was most recently the head coach at Minnesota, taking over for Jerry Kill after Kill resigned due to health issues.
His last victory came against Washington State in the Holiday Bowl, but was in the midst of 10 players being suspended in connection with sexual assault allegations.
USC’S BURNETT ENTERING DRAFT >> Southern California receiver Deontay Burnett is skipping his senior season to enter the NFL draft. The 20-year-old Burnett was the Trojans’ leading receiver this season, catching 86 passes for 1,114 yards and nine touchdowns. SHRINE GAME COACHES NAMED >> Longtime NFL assistant coaches Jonathan Hayes and Bobby Johnson will be the head coaches of the East-West Shrine college all-star game. The game will be played Saturday, Jan. 20, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.