Former Georgia coach Mark Richt, Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson named to College Football Hall of Fame

Jan. 9—Former Georgia coach Mark Richt and former Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson were selected for induction to the College Football Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation announced Monday.

The two were among four coaches in the Class of 2023, joining former Central Michigan coach Roy Kramer and former Lakeland and Shepherd coach Monte Cater.

The players in this year's class are Eric Berry (Tennessee), Michael Bishop (Kansas State), Reggie Bush (USC), Dwight Freeney (Syracuse), Robert Gallery (Iowa), LaMichael James (Oregon), Derrick Johnson (Texas), Bill Kollar (Montana State), Luke Kuechly (Boston College), Jeremy Maclin (Missouri), Terance Mathis (New Mexico), Bryant McKinnie (Miami, Fla.), Corey Moore (Virginia Tech), Michael Stonebreaker (Notre Dame), Tim Tebow (Florida), Troy Vincent (Wisconsin), Brian Westbrook (Villanova) and DeAngelo Williams (Memphis).

Richt is the fifth former Georgia coach to be elected to the College Hall of Fame along with 16 former players. During his tenure with the Bulldogs from 2001-2015, Richt compiled a record of 145-51 (.738) and was named Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2005. He led the team to two SEC championships (2002 and 2005), five SEC championship game appearances, 15 consecutive bowl games (10-5) and eight top ten final national poll finishes.

Richt was one of only four men in NCAA Division I-A history to record 135 or more wins in his first 14 seasons. Twenty-four of his players went on to play in the Super Bowl. One of them, Thomas Davis of the Carolina Panthers, received the 2014 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award by the NFL.

Johnson is Georgia Tech's 20th College Football Hall of Fame inductee and its third in the last 10 years, joining quarterback Joe Hamilton (2014) and wide receiver Calvin Johnson (2018). He is the fourth Georgia Tech head coach to be enshrined (joining John Heisman, William Alexander and Bobby Dodd), but the first since Dodd in 1993.

Utilizing his patented spread option offense, Johnson compiled a career record of 189-99 (.656) in 22 seasons as a head coach, including an 82-60 record in 11 seasons at Georgia Tech (2008-18). His 82 wins are the fourth-most in Tech history, behind only Dodd (165), Alexander (134) and Heisman (102), while only Dodd won more games in his first 11 seasons on The Flats (91). Johnson's .577 winning percentage with the Yellow Jackets ranks fifth in program history, behind only Heisman (.764), Dodd (.713), George O'Leary (.612) and Alexander (.580). Under Johnson, the Yellow Jackets compiled two of the nine 10-win seasons and one of the five 11-win campaigns in Georgia Tech's 130-year football history.

He led the Jackets to nine bowl appearances and three Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Games and was named ACC Coach of the Year three times (2008, 2009 and 2014) during his 11 seasons at Tech. He was selected as National Coach of the Year by CBS Sportsline in 2008, marking the second time in his career that he received National Coach of the Year honors (Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year, 2004, Navy).

Johnson's 22-year career as a head coach also included ultra-successful stints at Georgia Southern (1997-2001) and the U.S. Naval Academy (2002-07). In five seasons at Georgia Southern, he led the Eagles to a gaudy 62-10 overall record, two NCAA Division I-AA national championships (1999 and 2000) and five-straight Southern Conference titles. In six years at Navy, he led the Midshipmen to five eight-win seasons, five Commander-in-Chief's trophies and five bowl appearances, turning around a program that had won just one game in the two seasons prior to his arrival (1-20).

When he stepped down at Georgia Tech at the end of the 2018 season, his 189 career victories ranked fourth among NCAA Division I FBS head coaches.