On Monday, the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame announced the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class. Below you can learn about the high school football career of every honoree.
Harris Barton, OT – Dunwoody High School (Georgia)
At the start of his high school football career at Dunwoody, in suburban Atlanta, Barton was undersized. Many stories have been written about him gaining putting on weight before his senior season, which turned him into a college football prospect. When Barton signed his Letter of Intent with the University of North Carolina, he was listed as 6-4, 220 pounds, which was a far cry from the 180-pounds he weighed as a junior.
David Fulcher, DB – Fremont High School (Los Angeles, California)
In high school, Fulcher was a two-way player at Fremont. He was a an all-league wide receiver in the Harbor League as a senior and also a 2nd Team member of the LA Times’ All-Central City squad.
Sat, Feb 13, 1982 – Page 54 · Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, Arizona) · Newspapers.comAfter his NFL playing days, Fulcher served as the head football coach at Cincinnati Christian High School
Dan Morgan, LB – J.P. Taravella High School (Coral Springs, Florida)
Morgan’s high school career began in Pennsylvania in suburban Pennsylvania at Upper Darby High School. Before his sophomore season, his family moved to Florida. He would become a star player at Taravella High School.
The future NFL linebacker gained a lot of his high school headlines as a running back.
Mon, Dec 25, 1995 – Page 45 · South Florida Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) · Newspapers.comIn 2004, Morgan, who is currently the Buffalo Bills’ Director of Player Personnel, became the first Taravella High player to have his number retired.
Thu, May 27, 2004 – 56 · South Florida Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) · Newspapers.comCarson Palmer, QB – Santa Margarita High School (Rancho Santa Margarita, California)
After training under legendary high school football coach and quarterback guru Bob Johnson, Palmer enrolled at Santa Margarita High School. During his senior season, Palmer completed 63-percent of his passes (136-of-216) for 2,607 yards with 31 touchdowns and only four interceptions. He capped his scholastic career with helping the school win back-to-back CIF-Southern Sections championships.
Sun, Dec 14, 1997 – Page 299 · The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) · Newspapers.comTony Romo, QB – Burlington High School (Wisconsin)
Surprisingly, Romo may have been a better basketball player in high school. He actually graduated as Burlington’s all-time leading scorer with 1,080 points.
On the gridiron, Romo became the school’s starting quarterback as a junior, finishing his senior season as a first team member of the All-Racine County football squad.
Fri, Nov 29, 1996 – 34 · The Journal Times (Racine, Wisconsin) · Newspapers.comC.J. Spiller, RB – Union County High School (Lake Butler, Florida)
During his high school career, Spiller averaged 10.2 yards per carry at Union County High School, which made him the No. 1 recruit in the state by Rivals.com.
Tue, Jan 24, 2006 – 23 · Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Florida) · Newspapers.comDarren Sproles, RB – Olathe North High School (Kansas)
Like Spiller, Sproles had a large yard-per-carry number. He averaged 8.4 yards per rush with 79 touchdowns. He was the Kansas City Star Player of the Year after his junior and senior seasons.
Sun, Dec 10, 2000 – 61 · The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri) · Newspapers.comAaron Taylor, OT – De La Salle (Concord, California)
In previous media stories, Taylor has discussed that he was the least likely person to become a high school offensive lineman, let alone an NFL offensive lineman and now a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Taylor said he spent a lot of time drinking on-the-streets until his family moved to Concord, California where he enrolled at De La Salle.
Andre Tippet, DE – Barringer (Newark, New Jersey)
Similar to Taylor, Tippet’s football debut wasn’t exactly stellar. Check-out the below 1980 column from The Des Moines Register.
Fri, Nov 7, 1980 – Page 21 · The Des Moines Register (Des Moines, Iowa) · Newspapers.comAl Wilson, LB – Jackson Central-Merry High School (Tennessee)
Wilson was a versatile high school football player. Aside from being a standout linebacker, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Famer also played running back for two years and then quarterback for a year. During his senior season, he was named an an All-American by several national media outlets.
Coaches
Rudy Hubbard, RB – Hubbard High School (Ohio)
Hubbard grew-up in Hubbard, Ohio and played at Hubbard High School before moving-on to a playing and coaching career at Ohio State. After winning a national championship as the head coach at Florida A&M and retiring, Hubbard returned to coaching as the head coach at Rickards High School in Florida in 2008. He stepped-down from Rickards in ’11
Bob Stoops, DB – Cardinal Mooney High School (Youngstown, Ohio)
Stoops played for his father Ron, who was a longtime defensive coordinator at Cardinal Mooney. Bob’s three brothers also played for their dad at Mooney.
