Golic on 2021 ballot for College Hall of Fame

Bob Golic, who starred at St. Joseph then at Notre Dame and later with the Browns is on HOF ballot.

Bob Golic, who starred at St. Joseph then at Notre Dame and later in the NFL with the Browns, has taken his first step to the College Football Hall of Fame.

Whether he’s get the big invite is still to be determined. On June 16, Golic was among a long list of players on the initial ballot for the 2021 class.

Golic, who grew up in Willowick, is hoping to join St. Joseph/VASJ grads already in the College Football Hall of Fame. That list includes former John Carroll linebacker London Fletcher and 1991 Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard of Michigan.

The 2021 ballot includes 78 players and seven coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 99 players and 33 coaches from the divisional ranks.

The announcement of the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be made in early 2021.

The class will be officially inducted Dec. 7, 2021, at the New York Hilton Midtown.

Although Golic was an interior defensive lineman in the NFL, he was a star linebacker for the Fighting Irish when he arrived there from St. Joseph in the 1970s.

Upon arriving in South Bend, Ind., Golic made quite an impression. He was just 17 as a freshman but right away he played. In the second game of ND’s 1975 season against Purdue, the team’s starting middle linebacker was injured and Golic got his big shot.

“You knew you were part of something special,” Golic said about his debut in a story at NDfootballhistory. com. “Not just that day, but you were part of the history book. You were in there with Knute (Rockne) and all the other greats. It was pretty incredible.

“I remember watching the offense break the huddle. As they lined up the sun was just gleaming off those helmets. I literally took a step back and thought this was the coolest thing I’d ever

seen. I never stopped appreciating it.”

In 1978, he was a unanimous first-team All-America selection and a finalist for the Lombardi Award in 1978. Golic own Notre Dame’s single-game record for tackles in a game with 26 vs. Michigan in 1978. He had six career interceptions, and ranks second in school history with 479 career tackles.

In a 38-10 Cotton Bowl win over No. 1 Texas to win the 1977 national title, Golic was a force. He was named Defensive MVP with 17 tackles and blocked a kick. Golic also was an All-America heavyweight wrestler for the Irish.

Other notable players on the 2021 College Hall ballot include:

• Former Browns quarterback and 1999 No. 1 overall draft pick Tim Couch, who was a 1998 first-team AllAmerica at Kentucky who finished fourth in Heisman voting that season.

• Former Ohio State All-America selections Mike Doss, the 2002 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year; linebacker James Laurinaitis, who won the Butkus and Nagurski Awards; and offensive lineman Chris Ward, who blocked for Archie Griffin in the 1970s.

Golic