Class of 2024: Devin Hester – Enshrinement brings deeper respect to return game
Enshrinement
Published on : 8/3/2024
By Barry Wilner
Special to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
When it comes to kick returners earning a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the challenge is almost as immense as the impact of a runback for a touchdown.
And when it comes to DEVIN HESTER, the numbers are so astounding there is little doubt he’s deserving of being the first primarily return man to be enshrined in Canton.
"When you think about it, any position to be the first in the Hall of Fame is so incredible and so unreal," Hester said when elected to the Hall. "I'm blessed to be opening up doors to the rest of the guys who are knocking on the door and deserve to be in the Hall of Fame."
During his emotional enshrinement speech Saturday to a crowd dominated by Bears fans – he stood awhile to soak in the elation before speaking – Hester reinforced that view:
“I hope that me being here today opens up the door and brings some attention to other guys like Brian Mitchell and Josh Cribbs,” Hester said. “Because I'm not the only returner who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. I'm just the first.”
A receiver, defensive back and special teams ace at Miami, Fla., Hester was selected in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft by Chicago.
“When I got to college,” he recalled, “my first time playing in the Orange Bowl, the first time I touched the ball I took a kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown versus the Florida Gators.”
Yes, what the Bears got was a game-changing performer whenever he touched the ball on special teams.
“You didn't know what you were getting yourself into,” Hester said with a smile about Bears management, “but you believed that you had something special coming your way.”
From the outset, the Windy City Flyer was unstoppable. As a rookie, he returned 47 punts for 600 yards (12.8 average) and three touchdowns; 20 kickoffs for 528 yards (26.4 average) and two scores; and, memorably, ran back a missed field goal 108 yards for a TD. To cap his All-Pro season, he burst through the Colts for a 92-yard kickoff return touchdown with the opening kickoff of the Super Bowl, an unmatched feat. Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy, also a Hall of Famer, admitted that kicking to Hester was “one of the worst decisions anyone could make.”
“Every glimpse of me trying to go to the next level, it would happen on that first play,” Hester said. “It was a sign that let me know that football was meant for me.”
An All-Pro the next season as well, Hester returned a punt 75 yards and a kickoff 88 yards for touchdowns against Denver – part of his four kickoff returns and two punt runbacks for scores, setting an NFL record for combined kick return TDs in one campaign.
Overall during his 11 pro seasons, Hester scored on 19 regular-season returns: 14 punts and five kickoffs. He was an easy choice for the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2010s and the NFL All-Time 100 Team.
He also came on the scene at the right time, because kick and punt returns have been neutered for safety reasons in recent seasons.
“When I exploded on the professional scene, there was a lot of negativity, because people didn't respect the return game,” he explained. “But eventually it got to the point where they put in a new rule – which was called, you guys know, the Devin Hester Rule – to move the kickoff up, so it made it easy for the kicker to kick it out the end zone, which eliminated me from getting a lot of returns.
“So I guess you could say the NFL had started taking the return game seriously.”
Hester joins three men who put the foot in football in the Hall: punter Ray Guy and placekickers Jan Stenerud and Morten Andersen.
Special to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
When it comes to kick returners earning a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the challenge is almost as immense as the impact of a runback for a touchdown.
And when it comes to DEVIN HESTER, the numbers are so astounding there is little doubt he’s deserving of being the first primarily return man to be enshrined in Canton.
"When you think about it, any position to be the first in the Hall of Fame is so incredible and so unreal," Hester said when elected to the Hall. "I'm blessed to be opening up doors to the rest of the guys who are knocking on the door and deserve to be in the Hall of Fame."
During his emotional enshrinement speech Saturday to a crowd dominated by Bears fans – he stood awhile to soak in the elation before speaking – Hester reinforced that view:
“I hope that me being here today opens up the door and brings some attention to other guys like Brian Mitchell and Josh Cribbs,” Hester said. “Because I'm not the only returner who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. I'm just the first.”
A receiver, defensive back and special teams ace at Miami, Fla., Hester was selected in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft by Chicago.
“When I got to college,” he recalled, “my first time playing in the Orange Bowl, the first time I touched the ball I took a kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown versus the Florida Gators.”
Yes, what the Bears got was a game-changing performer whenever he touched the ball on special teams.
“You didn't know what you were getting yourself into,” Hester said with a smile about Bears management, “but you believed that you had something special coming your way.”
From the outset, the Windy City Flyer was unstoppable. As a rookie, he returned 47 punts for 600 yards (12.8 average) and three touchdowns; 20 kickoffs for 528 yards (26.4 average) and two scores; and, memorably, ran back a missed field goal 108 yards for a TD. To cap his All-Pro season, he burst through the Colts for a 92-yard kickoff return touchdown with the opening kickoff of the Super Bowl, an unmatched feat. Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy, also a Hall of Famer, admitted that kicking to Hester was “one of the worst decisions anyone could make.”
“Every glimpse of me trying to go to the next level, it would happen on that first play,” Hester said. “It was a sign that let me know that football was meant for me.”
An All-Pro the next season as well, Hester returned a punt 75 yards and a kickoff 88 yards for touchdowns against Denver – part of his four kickoff returns and two punt runbacks for scores, setting an NFL record for combined kick return TDs in one campaign.
Overall during his 11 pro seasons, Hester scored on 19 regular-season returns: 14 punts and five kickoffs. He was an easy choice for the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2010s and the NFL All-Time 100 Team.
He also came on the scene at the right time, because kick and punt returns have been neutered for safety reasons in recent seasons.
“When I exploded on the professional scene, there was a lot of negativity, because people didn't respect the return game,” he explained. “But eventually it got to the point where they put in a new rule – which was called, you guys know, the Devin Hester Rule – to move the kickoff up, so it made it easy for the kicker to kick it out the end zone, which eliminated me from getting a lot of returns.
“So I guess you could say the NFL had started taking the return game seriously.”
Hester joins three men who put the foot in football in the Hall: punter Ray Guy and placekickers Jan Stenerud and Morten Andersen.
More on the Enshrinement of each class member
Class members are listed in order of their Enshrinement speeches:- Class of 2024: Dwight Freeney – Pushed himself ‘to make it happen’
- Class of 2024: Steve McMichael – Loved every minute of every down
- Class of 2024: Randy Gradishar – Shares credit for his legacy with teammates
- Class of 2024: Devin Hester – Enshrinement brings deeper respect to return game
- Class of 2024: Patrick Willis – Completed what he came to do in NFL
- Class of 2024: Julius Peppers – ‘Root people’ help plant him in Hall of Fame
- Class of 2024: Andre Johnson – Breakout receiver breaks barrier for Texans’ franchise
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