Priest Holmes, Carlette Guidry-Falkquay among 2023 Texas Sports Hall of Fame class

Former Texas running back Priest Holmes and track star Carlette Guidry-Falkquay will be part of the 2023 induction class into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, it was announced Wednesday.

The other inductees are NFL Hall of Fame defensive lineman Michael Strahan, former Oklahoma running back and NFL star Adrian Peterson, former Houston Oilers linebacker Robert Brazile, former Houston Astros outfielder Jose Cruz, national champion Baylor basketball coach Scott Drew and Olympic diver Cynthia Potter. The induction ceremony will be held April 15 in Waco.

Holmes led San Antonio Marshall to its first state championship appearance in 1991, scored three touchdowns with 120 yards rushing in Texas’ upset of Nebraska in the first Big 12 championship game and was a three-time All-Pro running back and a Super Bowl champion for the Baltimore Ravens in 2001 and was the NFL's 2002 offensive player of the year with the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Even though Holmes is largely remembered for his great performances in the Sun Bowl and Nebraska, he was so good that eventual Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams blocked for him in that win over the Cornhuskers.

Guidry-Falkquay, a Houston native, became a 23-time All-American and 12-time NCAA champion track star at Texas in the 1980s, when she established four school records in the 55-meter, 60-meter, 100-meter and sprint medley relay. She was on the Southwest Conference's all-decade team and became an Olympic gold medalist in 1992 and 1996 as a member of Team USA's 400-meter relay team.

The other inductees were equally decorated.

Brazile, who was nicknamed "Dr. Doom," is a 2018 NFL Hall of Famer who was a defensive force of nature for the Oilers in the 1970s. After an All-America career at Jackson State, Brazile was the AFC's rookie of the year and the Associated Press' defensive rookie of the year in 1974 and earned two All-Pro nods, was a seven-time Pro Bowler and was on the all-decade team. He helped lead Houston to two AFC championship games in 1978 and 1979 and had career numbers of 1,281 tackles, 13 interceptions, 14 fumble recoveries and 48 sacks.

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Cruz played 13 of his 19 major league seasons with the Astros, from 1975-87. He finished third in the National League MVP voting in 1980, in 1983 he led the NL in hits and stole at least 30 bases in five different seasons. He was a career .292 hitter with 335 doubles, a franchise-record 80 triples, 138 home runs, 942 RBIs and 288 steals. He also spent 13 seasons as the Astros' first-base coach. His No. 25 jersey was retired in 1992.

Drew led Baylor’s men’s basketball team to its first national title in 2021 and has guided the Bears to 10 NCAA Tournaments, five Sweet Sixteens and two Big 12 regular-season championships (2021 and 2022). Now entering his 20th season with the Bears, he's tied as the Big 12's longest-tenured head coach with a school-record 397 victories.

Peterson was a five-star recruit from Palestine who terrorized defenses for years and is considered one of the best running backs in college history. He was a first-team All-American at Oklahoma and a three-time All-Big 12 selection. The seventh overall pick of the 2007 draft, he earned AP offensive rookie of the year honors and was the 2012 league MVP. He has rushed for 14,918 yards — fifth-most all-time — and 120 touchdowns and is a seven-time All-Pro and a three-time NFL rushing champion.

Potter, raised in Houston, graduated from Lamar High School and then starred in swimming and diving at Indiana. She earned a spot on the 1972, 1976 and 1980 U.S. Olympic teams and won a bronze medal in 1976. She won 28 swimming titles and was voted diver of the year three times. She later coached and has been an analyst for NBC Sports' Olympics coverage since the 1992 Games in Barcelona.

Strahan was one of the most feared defensive linemen in NFL history. After attending Texas Southern, he was drafted 40th overall by the New York Giants, where he spent his entire 15-year professional career. The seven-time Pro Bowler led the NFL in sacks in 2001 and 2003, and in 2001 set the single-season sacks record with a staggering 22½ sacks and was named the NFL's defensive player of the year.

In his final game as an NFL player, Strahan helped lead the Giants to a Super Bowl victory in 2008 against the undefeated New England Patriots. He finished his career with 141½ sacks, sixth all-time in NFL history. He is also a member of the NFL’s all-decade team of the 2000s and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

The 62nd annual Texas Sports Hall of Fame Induction Banquet will be held in the BASE at Extraco Events Center in Waco on April 15. Tickets and sponsorship packages are on sale at tshof.org/2023. For information or questions, contact Krista Martin at krista.martin@tshof.org or (254) 756-1633.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Longhorns Holmes, Guidry-Falkquay enter Texas Sports Hall of Fame