Three of the 15 finalists for the Class of 2025 for the Pro Football Hall of Fame played their high school football in California. Cali is the only state with multiple former high school players from the Modern-Era who have a shot at being enshrined in Canton in August.
Jared Allen, who played at Los Gatos High School in Northern California, is a finalist for the fifth time. The defensive end, who played for the Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings during his 11-year career.
Eric Allen is a finalist for the second year in a row. During his high school days at Point Loma, outside of San Diego, he was a two-way star under legendary coach Bennie Edens, who was the 2002 NFL High School Coach of the Year.
Allen, who played for the New Orleans Saints, Oakland Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles, is best know for returning eight of his 54 career interceptions for touchdowns.
The third California finalist is Steve Smith, Sr., who played at University High School in Los Angeles. In addition to football, Smith, who played for the Baltimore Ravens and Carolina Panthers, is a first time finalist, was a member of the school’s track and field team.
The Class of 2025 will be announced at the NFL Honors on Thursday, February 6, before Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.
Below are all 15 finalists and where they played high school football.
Eric Allen, Cornerback – Point Loma HS (California)
Professional Career: 1988-1994 Philadelphia Eagles, 1995-97 New Orleans Saints, 1998-2001 Oakland Raiders
Allen was an outstanding two-way player at Point Loma, outside of San Diego. In 1991, his high school coach Bennie Edens, who won 248 games during his 48-year career at the school, told the LA Times that Allen was great on both sides of the ball, “Eric Allen was an athlete. That was his attribute. I recall we tried to make a decision whether to use him on offense or defense, and we couldn’t. I realize he’s made his mark in the NFL as a defensive player, but he was a heck of an offensive player as well. I’m convinced he could have done just as well in the pros as a receiver.”
During his senior season, Allen caught 27 passes for 604 yards, an average of 22.4 yards per catch. Operating out of the slot, he also ran for over 700 yards, averaging 8.5 yards per carry.
Jared Allen, Defensive End – Los Gatos HS (California)
Professional Career: 2004-07 Kansas City Chiefs, 2008-2013 Minnesota Vikings, 2014-15 Chicago Bears, 2015 Carolina Panthers
Allen spent most of his high school days in Texas at Live Oak High School. He moved to California for his senior season where he attended Los Gatos High.
Even though he played only one year at Los Gatos, Allen made a big impact. The 2000 graduate was named to first team All-League in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. He was also named Defensive Player of the Year after 96 tackles, 12 sacks, five forces fumbles and five fumble recoveries.
Willie Anderson, Offensive Tackle – Vigor HS (Alabama)
Professional Career: 1996-2007 Cincinnati Bengals, 2008 Baltimore Ravens
Anderson was a three-time all-state offensive lineman at Vigor High School. He was named the 1992 Bobby Dodd National Lineman of the Year by the Touchdown Club of Atlanta. At 6-foot-6-inches tall, 305-pounds, Anderson was known as a high schooler, whose coach would call college football programs, around the country, looking for shoes for his player’s massive 19.5 size feet.
Jahri Evans, Guard – Frankford HS (Pennsylvania)
Professional career: 2006-2016 New Orleans Saints, 2017 Green Bay Packers
Evans didn’t begin playing football until attending Frankford High School. He was named an All-Public League player as a junior, but a broken leg before his senior season kept him off the field. He was also an outstanding student, graduating 10th in his class. Not highly-recruited, Evans played at Division II Bloomsburg.
Antonio Gates, Tight End – Central HS (Detroit, Michigan)
Professional career: 2003-2018 San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers
Gates may have been a better basketball player than a football player at Detroit’s Central High School. In fact, he dreamed more of an NBA career as a star on the Kent State University basketball team. However, once he signed a free agent contract with the San Diego, Gates was committed to the gridiron.
Tory Holt, Wide Receiver – Eastern Guilford HS (North Carolina)
Professional career: 1999-2008 St. Louis Rams, 2009 Jacksonville Jaguars
At Eastern Guilford, Holt showed off his receiving skills. For his scholastic career, he grabbed 129 passes during for 2,573 yards with 42 touchdowns. He also three punts and three kickoffs for touchdowns. He was considered one of the Top 25 players in the state of North Carolina during his senior season.
Luke Kuechly, Linebacker – St. Xavier HS (Ohio)
Professional career: 2012-19 Carolina Panthers
As a senior, Kuechley helped lead St. Xavier to an Ohio Division I state championship with a perfect 15-0 record. They were named national champs by several rankings services, including ESPN. Over his last two seasons, he recorded 277 tackles with seven sacks and four interceptions.
Eli Manning, Quarterback – Isidore Newman HS (Louisiana)
Professional career: 2004-2019 New York Giants
Manning, following in his brother Peyton’s footsteps, played at Isidore Newman in New Orleans. He left the scholastic game with schools records for passing yards (7,389) and touchdowns (89). Those records were eventually broken by Arch Manning, Eli’s nephews, who is now at the University of Texas.
Steve Smith, Sr., Wide Receiver – University HS (Los Angeles, California)
Professional career: 2001-2013 Carolina Panthers, 2014-16 Baltimore Ravens
At University High, Smith played running back and defensive back. On the track team, he was outstanding. Smith still holds the school record in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 38.73 seconds.
Terrell Suggs, Linebacker – Hamilton HS (Arizona)
Professional career: 2003-2018 Baltimore Ravens, 2019 Arizona Cardinals, 2019 Kansas City Chiefs
Suggs was a great two-way player at Hamilton High School. During his junior season, he set an Arizona Class 5A rushing record with 367 yards in a game. Suggs graduated as a Parade All-American and the Gatorade Player of the Year in Arizona.
Fred Taylor, Running Back – Glades Central HS (Florida)
Professional career: 1998-2008 Jacksonville Jaguars, 2009-2010 New England Patriots
After starting on the defensive side of the ball at Glades Central, Taylor moved to offense as a junior. As a senior, he was considered one of the Top 10 running backs in the nation. During the 1993 regular season, he was named the District 17 Player of the Year after rushing for 1,545 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Adam Vinatieri, Placekicker – Central (Rapid City, South Dakota)
Professional career: 1996-2005 New England Patriots, 2006-2019 Indianapolis Colts
Vinatieri did it all during his senior season at Rapid City Central. He was the team’s quarterback and on defense he played outside linebacker and defensive back. He was named South Dakota All-State as a punter after averaging 39.8 yards a punt with 11 inside the 20. He didn’t miss an extra-point as a kicker and made five of eight field goal attempts.
Reggie Wayne, Wide Receiver – John Ehret HS (Louisiana)
Professional career: 2001-2014 Indianapolis Colts
Wayne rarely left the field during his junior and senior seasons at John Ehret. In addition to playing wide receiver, he was the team’s safety and punter, plus he was also the Patriots’ kickoff returner. In 2018, he was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
Darren Woodson, Safety – Maryvale HS (Arizona)
Professional career: 1992-2003 Dallas Cowboys
Woodson was a running back and linebacker in high school. As a senior he scored six touchdowns in one game. Woodson was joined in the Maryvale backfield another future NFL’er Phillippi Sparks, who played cornerback for the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys.
Marshal Yanda, Guard/Tackle – Anamosa HS (Iowa)
Professional career: 2007-2019 Baltimore Ravens
Yanda was a three-sport athlete at Anamosa. He made first team All-District in his senior season. Yanda also played basketball and was a member of the school’s track-and-field program.
