Nelson, Sitton credit people, stories behind achievements during Hall of Fame induction
GREEN BAY – For Jordy Nelson and Josh Sitton, their hall of fame careers in Green Bay weren't just about their accomplishments, but also the stories and the people behind those accomplishments.
Nelson, a receiver, and Sitton, a guard, both were drafted by the Packers in 2008 and both last played in 2018 with other teams. They were inducted as the 167th and 168th members during the 52nd Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Inc. Induction Banquet on Aug. 31 in the Lambeau Field Atrium.
"It makes it extra special to be in the same draft class, to win the Super Bowl together, we were lucky enough to go to the Pro Bowl together and be inducted into the Hall of Fame together," Nelson said during a press conference before Thursday's induction.
When asked which was his biggest individual play in his 10 years in Green Bay, he said the easy answer was the 29-yard touchdown he scored in Super Bowl XLV against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it was the story behind the play as much as the play itself that made it special.
During the Packers' Super Bowl season in 2010, when he was in his third year and quarterback Aaron Rodgers was in his sixth, Nelson missed one of Rodgers' infamous hand signals. Rodgers expected him to run down the field and Nelson ran a gloriously precise comeback route, with the result of the ball flying 40 yards to an empty field.
"I claim (the hand signal) was never taught, he claims different," Nelson said. "Fortunately, I screwed up in the regular season. The same signal came up in the Super Bowl. He tapped his head. You can see it on film. We got it right. For me, it's not only the touchdown, but a little bit of the story behind it."
With his blazing speed, he was one of Rodgers' favorite receivers. He caught 550 passes for the Packers, ranking fourth all time, and scored 72 touchdowns, ranking third, behind Don Hutson and Davante Adams.
Sitton said he wasn't even sure he would make the Packers' roster after being drafted in the fourth round. Former Packers offensive line coach James Campen, who introduced Sitton at the banquet, said it was never a question after the third day of training camp, when Sitton beat defensive players Ryan Pickett, Johnny Jolly and Cullen Jenkins in one-on-one drills.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst, who at the time was a scout, walked away saying, "We're good."
Sitton was most proud of his availability, game in and game out. He started 112 of 121 regular-season games and all 13 postseason contests in which he appeared, including Super Bowl XLV. From 2009 to 2015, he started the most games (110) by a Packers offensive lineman. During his time with the Packers, Sitton was named to the Pro Bowl three times and earned second-team AP All-Pro honors three times.
"For whatever reason, I really hung my hat on that. I wanted to be out there on the field of play and if I couldn't I was extremely disappointed," he said. "I took pride in being able to gut through things. I thought that even if I was out there at 80%, that was probably pretty good."
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Nelson, too, was not happy when he couldn't be on the field, but said he learned to focus only on those things he could control. When he tore his ACL and had to sit out the 2015 season, he made it his mission to get back in the game, and to make Packers doctor Patrick McKenzie mad by doing everything faster than expected.
"We accomplished that," Nelson said.
He was NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2016.
The "we" included Packers trainer Nate Weir, associate athletic trainer and director of rehab & return to play, who introduced Nelson on Thursday.
"In his 10 years, he set the standard ... any department within our building would just rave about him being not only one of the all-time greats on the field, but off the field," Weir said. "And also, obviously, the impact he and his wife, Emily, and family had on the community, how much they embraced moving here and living here, raising their family ... and being really impactful on and off the field."
Nelson is the only player in Packers history to record three seasons with more than 13 touchdown receptions, and he and Sterling Sharpe are the only players in franchise history to register three consecutive seasons with more than 85 receptions. Nelson amassed 1,250-plus receiving yards and 13-plus touchdown catches in the same season three times in his career, the fourth-most in NFL history.
Both men joined the Packers during the year Brett Favre was ushered out of Green Bay and Rodgers became starting quarterback. They said having never played with Favre, the transition to Rodgers was a non-issue, and was more of an issue outside the locker room than in.
"I remember going to training camp and 10,000 people were booing Aaron. I said, 'Is this normal?'" Sitton said.
Sitton said receiving such an honor made him think about all the people who helped him become a better player and person, chief among those being Campen.
"As a 21-, 22-year-old, that means a lot to have a strong male presence in your life and say they care about you," he said.
He also credited Campen for teaching him to be more emotional and to wear his heart on his sleeve. But that also meant when he was rehearsing his speech for Thursday night alone in his room, he was "literally just sobbing to myself. When I am staring out at my friends and my family, I'm going to be an absolute mess."
Both men returned to their homes after football. Nelson is back in Kansas, 2 miles from the house he was raised in. He helps on the farm and coaches different sports, including as an assistant to his sister, who is the head girls basketball coach at their high school. Sitton returned to Pensacola, Florida. He owns a construction and development company, but is mostly a stay-at-home dad, "with a little bit of business and a lot of tennis and working out. I'm a trophy tennis husband, I think," he said during an interview earlier this year.
In other awards Thursday:
The Bob Harlan Leadership Award went to Ted Eisenreich, retired director of facility operations. Eisenreich spent his entire 40-year career with the Packers. He started as one of two members of the Packers’ maintenance team, which grew to more than 50 employees. He helped ensure the Packers could continue to play in Lambeau Field throughout the stadium’s nearly three-year redevelopment project completed in 2003. From successfully supervising and managing numerous additional construction projects to overseeing large-scale additions, snow removal and constant maintenance, Eisenreich contributed to the success of the Packers organization and the stadium facilities over the past four decades, the Hall of Fame said.
The Bart and Cherry Starr Recognition Award recipient was Tom Konop, who served on the hall's executive committee for 25 years and was president for the past six years. He led efforts to finalize a 25-year agreement between Hall of Fame Inc. and the Green Bay Packers, strengthening the bond between the organizations and ensuring the team’s history will always be available for fans to see. Konop was a vital part of milestones such as the 50th anniversaries of the Hall of Fame and the Ice Bowl, as well as the 100th anniversary of the Green Bay Packers.
Also recognized Thursday was former Packers quarterback Don Majkowski for the Most Memorable Moment, which recounted the game between the Packers and the Chicago Bears in 1989 that had an enduring impact on the NFL. Known as the “Instant Replay Game,” the contest came down to the final play in which Majkowski threw a touchdown pass to Sterling Sharpe. While the score was initially nullified when officials believed Majkowski crossed the line of scrimmage prior to the pass, they reviewed their decision using instant replay — technology that had only been introduced a few years prior — and ruled it a touchdown.
Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Inc. is a nonprofit corporation independent of the Green Bay Packers that guides the hall as an historic national sports venue and educational resource to the Green Bay community and the state of Wisconsin.
Contact Richard Ryman at rryman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG/.
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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Jordy Nelson, Josh Sitton inducted in Packers Hall of Fame
