Plenty of former Vikings highlight 2023 College Football Hall of Fame ballot

We all know about the Pro Football Hall of Fame and members of the Minnesota Vikings that should probably be in it. . .coughJim Marshallcough. . .but there’s also a College Football Hall of Fame, and there are plenty of former Vikings on the list to potentially be part of the class of 2023.

The ballot for the next College Football Hall of Fame class was released on Monday, so let’s take a look at the former Vikings that are on it.

• DT Brad Culpepper (1992 - 1993): Culpepper might be best known for appearing on several seasons of the TV show Survivor, but he was a tenth-round pick of the Vikings in 1992 and spent two seasons with the club.
• RB D.J. Dozier (1987 - 1990): He might be more of an infamous pick than a famous one. And his lack of success is what led directly to the Herschel Walker trade. But he was a hell of a college football player. (Hey, if you can’t say anything nice. . .am I right?)
• RB Toby Gerhart (2010 - 2013): After getting jobbed out of the Heisman Trophy in 2009, Gerhart played with the Vikings for four seasons. He had his moments but ultimately didn’t do much in his opportunities to spell Adrian Peterson.
• G Steve Hutchinson (2006 - 2011): The Hall of Famer was an All-American at Michigan and started his career as a great guard with the Seattle Seahawks, but he was really special in his time with Minnesota.
• OT Bryant McKinnie (2002 - 2010): A two-time All-American at Miami, McKinnie gave us the last great holdout in Vikings’ history (as the Vikings nearly didn’t get him signed after the 2002 Draft), but was pretty damn good for the purple for the better part of a decade.

Players become eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame ten seasons after their final college football game, and while I’m not completely familiar with how the voting goes or whatever biases there might be, it strikes me that guys like Hutchinson aren’t already in the Hall. McKinnie, too, for that matter.

There’s no firm date for the announcement of the 2023 College Football Hall of Fame class, other than “early 2023.” Here’s hoping that some of these former Vikings get the call from South Bend when the votes are tallied.