Former Texas football star Jamaal Charles up for Pro Football Hall of Fame
Former Texas running back Jamaal Charles has never done anything slow, including a run at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Charles joins eight other players eligible for a gold jacket in their first year of eligibility, Hall of Fame officials announced Tuesday. He joins receivers Brandon Marshall and Jordy Nelson, tight end Antonio Gates, offensive linemen T.J. Lang, Josh Sitton and Max Unger as well as defensive linemen Haloti Ngata and Julius Peppers as the first-time nominees among the other 173 modern-era players listed for the 2024 class.
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Any player or coach that has been retired for five full seasons is eligible to be selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The hall’s selection committee goes through three rounds of polling to decide which candidates become official nominees on the final list.
The list of modern-era nominees will be reduced to 25 semifinalists in November, with the 2024 class being announced in January.
Charles, a native of Port Arthur, played for three teams during his decade-long NFL career that stretched from 2008-2018. His best seasons came from 2008-16 in Kansas City, where he earned two first-team all-NFL spots and one second-team selection as well as four Pro Bowl berths with the Chiefs. He also spent single seasons in Denver and Jacksonville before ending his career with 7,563 yards rushing, another 2,593 yards receiving and 64 total touchdowns.
A former Big 12 track champion at Texas, Charles is one of the most dangerous big-play threats to ever line up in the backfield. His career average of 5.4 yards per carry is the highest ever among NFL players with at least 1,000 carries.
During his three-year career at Texas from 2005-2007, Charles ran for 3,328 yards with a robust yards-per-carry average of 6.2. He ended his career No. 4 on Texas’ all-time rushing list behind Ricky Williams, Cedric Benson and Earl Campbell. He's currently fifth after Bijan Robison passed him last season.
Texas’ program has produced three Hall of Fame players, including Campbell, defensive back Bobby Dillon and quarterback Bobby Layne. Former Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry and former Dallas Cowboys general manager Tex Schramm are both UT graduates who are also in the Hall of Fame.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Former Texas football star Jamaal Charles running toward Hall of Fame
