Road to Canton (via South Florida)

On the day before Super Bowl XLIV in South Florida next February, the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Board of Selectors will meet to hold its annual selection meeting to elect between four and seven individuals who will comprise the Class of 2010. The 44-person committee will debate the merits of 17 final candidates. Two of those finalists are this year’s senior nominees, former Detroit Lions defensive back Dick LeBeau and Denver Broncos running back Floyd Little.

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The other 15 finalists will be selected from the initial list of 131 preliminary modern-era nominees that was announced on September 19. The selection process calls for a reduction to 25 semifinalists in November before the finalists are determined in January.

Between now and Thanksgiving Weekend, Profootballhof.com will profile the groups of players who comprise this list of nominees for the 2010 class.

THIS WEEK:

Running Backs

NEXT WEEK: Offensive Linemen

PREVIOUS WEEKS:
Running Backs | First-Year Eligibles | QBs | Special teams, Coaches & Contributors

Fourteen of the 131 preliminary nominees for the Class of 2010 are running backs. Leading the way is the NFL’s all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith who is eligible for the first time. As for the others, all but Eddie George, have been eligible for Canton prior to this year. Yet, none have been finalists and only two runners have ever advanced to the semifinalist cut down. Roger Craig was among the semifinalists last year as was former Denver Broncos RB Terrell Davis who has been a semifinalist in each of the past three years.

The road to Canton has been a long one for running backs over the past decade. Only three runners – Thurman Thomas (2007), Barry Sanders (2004) and Marcus Allen (2003) – have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the past 10 classes of enshrinees.

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In all, 25 modern-era running backs are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Here’s a closer look at the entire list of RBs under consideration for 2010 and how they stack up against each other.

Ottis Anderson – 1979-1986 St. Louis Cardinals, 1986-1992 New York Giants

Larry Centers – 1990-98 Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, 1999-2000 Washington Redskins, 2001-02 Buffalo Bills, 2003 New England Patriots

Roger Craig – 1983-1990 San Francisco 49ers, 1991 Los Angeles Raiders, 1992-93 Minnesota Vikings

Terrell Davis – 1995-2001 Denver Broncos

Eddie George – 1996-2003 Houston/Tennessee Oilers/Titans, 2004 Dallas Cowboys

Leroy Hoard – 1990-95 Cleveland Browns, 1996 Baltimore Ravens, 1996 Carolina Panthers, 1996-99 Minnesota Vikings

Eric Metcalf (also WR/PR/KR) – 1989-1994 Cleveland Browns, 1995-96 Atlanta Falcons, 1997 San Diego Chargers, 1998 Arizona Cardinals, 1999 Carolina Panthers, 2001 Washington Redskins, 2002 Green Bay Packers

Brian Mitchell (also KR/PR) – 1990-99 Washington Redskins, 2000-02 Philadelphia Eagles, 2003 New York Giants

Mike Pruitt – 1976-1984 Cleveland Browns, 1985 Buffalo Bills, 1985-86 Kansas City Chiefs

Gerald Riggs – 1982-88 Atlanta Falcons, 1989-1991 Washington Redskins

George Rogers – 1981-84 New Orleans Saints, 1985-87 Washington Redskins

Emmitt Smith – 1990-2002 Dallas Cowboys, 2003-04 Arizona Cardinals

Herschel Walker – 1986-89, 1996-97 Dallas Cowboys, 1989-1991 Minnesota Vikings, 1992-94 Philadelphia Eagles, 1995 New York Giants

Ricky Watters – 1992-94 San Francisco 49ers, 1995-97 Philadelphia Eagles, 1998-2001 Seattle Seahawks

Running Back Nominees for 2010 Election
	Rushing				Receiving			Punt Returns			Kickoff Returns			Scoring
Player	Yrs.	No.	Yds	TD	No.	Yds	TD	No.	Yds.	TD	No.	Yds.	TD	TD	PAT	FG	TOT
Ottis Anderson	14	2,562	10,273	81	376	3,062	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	86	0	0	516
Larry Centers	14	615	2,188	14	827	6,797	28	5	30	0	33	617	0	42	0	0	252
Roger Craig	11	1,991	8,189	56	566	4,911	17	0	0	0	3	43	0	73	0	0	438
Terrell Davis	7	1,655	7,607	60	169	1,280	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	64	0	0	390
Eddie George	9	2,865	10,441	68	268	2,227	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	78	0	0	474
Leroy Hoard	10	1,008	3,964	36	238	2,430	15	0	0	0	21	400	0	51	0	0	306
Eric Metcalf	13	630	2,392	12	541	5,572	31	351	3,453	10	280	5,813	2	55	0	0	330
Brian Mitchell	14	388	1,967	12	255	2,336	4	463	4,999	9	607	14,014	4	29	0	0	176
Mike Pruitt	11	1,844	7,378	51	270	1,860	5	0	0	0	12	237	0	56	0	0	336
Gerald Riggs	10	1,989	8,188	69	201	1,516	0	0	0	0	17	330	0	69	0	0	414
George Rogers	7	1,692	7,176	54	55	368	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	54	0	0	324
Emmitt Smith	15	4,409	18,355	164	515	3,224	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	175	0	0	1,052
Herschel Walker	12	1,954	8,225	61	512	4,859	21	0	0	0	215	5,084	2	84	0	0	504
Ricky Watters	10	2,622	10,643	78	467	4,248	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	91	0	0	548

 

	Honors				Championship Teams
Player	Yrs.	All Pro	All Conf	Pro Bowls	Div.	Conf	League
Ottis Anderson	14	1	1	2	3	2	2
Larry Centers	14	1	0	3	2	1	1
Roger Craig	11	1	1	4	8	3	3
Terrell Davis	7	3	3	3	2	2	2
Eddie George	9	1	2	4	2	1	0
Leroy Hoard	10	0	0	1	2	0	0
Eric Metcalf	13	3^	1^	3^	1	0	0
Brian Mitchell	14	2^	2^	1^	4	1	1
Mike Pruitt	11	0	1	2	1	0	0
Gerald Riggs	10	1	1	3	1	1	1
George Rogers	7	1	1	2	1	1	1
Emmitt Smith	15	4	5	8	6	3	3
Herschel Walker	12	0	2	2	2	0	0
Ricky Watters	10	0	0	5	4	1	1
^All honors earned as kick returner