A blast — well, more of a bolt — from Air Force’s football past will be eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame this year, but he’s got a crowded field to deal with. Ernie Jennings, a first-team All-American wide receiver in 1970 who led the Falcons to the 1971 Sugar Bowl, was among the 77 players and coaches to make the Hall’s first cut, the Air Force Academy announced Tuesday. His 74 catches for 1,289 yards and 17 touchdowns remain single-season Air Force records; he also holds all the school’s career marks (148 catches, 2,392 yards, 28 TDs).…
Browsing: Scott Thomas
Sometimes, school pride just bursts free: That’s Lt. Col. Scott Thomas, All-American defensive back for Air Force in 1985, playing to the Colorado Springs crowd as a special guest of the ESPN “College GameDay” crew in 2009. ESPN brought their pregame festivities to the academy that year before the Army-Air Force game, which the Falcons won 35-7. Thomas served as a guest analyst. His impartiality might be a tad suspect. Thomas was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame earlier this year. His coach for that 1985 season, Fisher DeBerry, was part of the 2011 class.
A few football items for a Thursday, while we try to come up with some more sports that can be played on an aircraft carrier: 1. New concussion study: A must-read here, and it’s not good — scientists studying the autopsied brains of four combat veterans found “evidence of a progressive degenerative brain disorder known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease found in recent years among deceased professional football players who had suffered multiple concussions.” CTE symptoms include memory loss and suicidal thoughts, and the disorder can lead to dementia, according to the report. Researchers have said CTE likely…
Air Force’s Scott Thomas, an All-American senior safety in 1985, will join his coach from that standout season in the College Football Hall of Fame. The hall announced its 2012 enshrinement class Tuesday; Thomas, who intercepted six passes and had 89 tackles in his senior season, joins a 17-member class that includes NFL legends Art Monk and Dave Casper, Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer and coaches Phillip Fulmer, Jimmy Johnson and R.C. Slocum. Thomas’ coach at Air Force, Fisher DeBerry, was selected for enshrinement last year. Chad Hennings, another Air Force defender on that 12-1 1985 club, was inducted in…
One was a senior leader on what’s probably the best Air Force football team ever. The other coached both of Navy’s Heisman winners and led the Mids to a de facto national title game in 1963. Not much in common, except another chance at enshrinement in the College Football Hall of Fame. Air Force’s Scott Thomas and Navy’s Wayne Hardin are back on the hall’s ballot, which was announced Feb. 28. Thomas appeared for the first time in 2011, and Hardin has been on since at least 2006. Once a candidate clears the nomination process (here’s the lofty criteria; non-All-Americans…
