Class of 2024: Dwight Freeney – Pushed himself ‘to make it happen’
Enshrinement
Published on : 8/3/2024
By Barry Wilner
Special to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Indianapolis Colts knew what they were getting when they selected DWIGHT FREENEY 11th overall in the 2002 NFL Draft: a sack machine.
Freeney led college football with 17.5 sacks at Syracuse University, then lived up to the billing throughout a 16-year career that included a Super Bowl title for the 2006 season and, now, enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“When you actually get that knock,” Freeney said of his former coach, TONY DUNGY, delivering the news of his selection, “you're really flushed with emotion, and you feel a gratitude and appreciation for all those who have been able to get there.
“One of the things that motivated me was never being completely satisfied with myself and my performance. It’s what drove me to continue to improve my skill-set and my mission to perfect my craft and try to dominate every Sunday. I realized that, in order for me to win battles on the field, I had to win the internal battles with myself. I had to keep pushing myself not to be complacent or lazy, to not look for excuses for why something didn't happen, but to make it happen.”
And Freeney was a difference-making defensive end from the moment he joined the Colts, establishing a rookie mark with 13 sacks, an indication of how dominant a pass-rushing threat he would be. Two years later, he led the league with 16 sacks, his first of three All-Pro seasons.
But it wasn’t only taking out quarterbacks that made Freeney stand out. He forced 47 fumbles, tied for fourth all time. Twice in a game Freeney caused three fumbles.
He did all of that despite not being particularly big for the position at 6-foot-1, 270 pounds. Compensating for any lack of size, Freeney was quick off the snap, mobile inside and out, fundamentally sound – and owned a spin move perfected after watching And1 Mixtapes. Although he joked that skill might have come from “jumping out of a second-story window at my babysitter’s house” when he was 2 years old.
“I want to thank this great game of football for giving me the opportunity to express myself and my creativity to the world,” he said as the first member of the Class of 2024 to be enshrined Saturday following a delay caused by severe storms – a delay that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd.
“I always felt like I was an artist, and the football field was my canvas, and I am forever grateful for that feeling.”
For his career, Freeney painted the canvas, uh, field, by totaling 125.5 sacks, 148 quarterback hits and 128 tackles for loss. In addition to paying tribute to his teammates – fellow Hall of Famers PEYTON MANNING, MARVIN HARRISON and EDGERRIN JAMES attended – and coaches during a compelling speech, Freeney also recalled how other Hall of Famers plagued NFL quarterbacks.
“I also want to thank some of those who paved the way for me, that happily, and intentionally used quarterbacks to soften their fall after they took them out,” he said, drawing laughs from the crowd – if not from guys who threw the ball. “JASON TAYLOR, MICHAEL STRAHAN, JOHN RANDLE, RICHARD DENT, RICKEY JACKSON, WARREN SAPP, BRUCE SMITH and LAWRENCE TAYLOR, who every Sunday I would run to the TV at 1 p.m. and watch him destroy another one of his opponents.”
Freeney did a pretty fair job of that, even though he initially seemed destined for soccer because both of his parents are Jamaican. A high school coach pulled him off the soccer field and over to the gridiron – a Hall of Fame move right there.
While thanking his family, a succession of coaches, teammates and friends, Freeney stressed what he sees as the secret to success. Perhaps he was directing his comments to members of the high school football team from nearby Rootstown, Ohio, who sat on the stadium floor.
“All of you know,” he said, “that nobody gets to this stage without hard work, sacrifice, and an amazing team and community around you.”
Class members are listed in order of their Enshrinement speeches:
Special to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Indianapolis Colts knew what they were getting when they selected DWIGHT FREENEY 11th overall in the 2002 NFL Draft: a sack machine.
Freeney led college football with 17.5 sacks at Syracuse University, then lived up to the billing throughout a 16-year career that included a Super Bowl title for the 2006 season and, now, enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“When you actually get that knock,” Freeney said of his former coach, TONY DUNGY, delivering the news of his selection, “you're really flushed with emotion, and you feel a gratitude and appreciation for all those who have been able to get there.
“One of the things that motivated me was never being completely satisfied with myself and my performance. It’s what drove me to continue to improve my skill-set and my mission to perfect my craft and try to dominate every Sunday. I realized that, in order for me to win battles on the field, I had to win the internal battles with myself. I had to keep pushing myself not to be complacent or lazy, to not look for excuses for why something didn't happen, but to make it happen.”
And Freeney was a difference-making defensive end from the moment he joined the Colts, establishing a rookie mark with 13 sacks, an indication of how dominant a pass-rushing threat he would be. Two years later, he led the league with 16 sacks, his first of three All-Pro seasons.
But it wasn’t only taking out quarterbacks that made Freeney stand out. He forced 47 fumbles, tied for fourth all time. Twice in a game Freeney caused three fumbles.
He did all of that despite not being particularly big for the position at 6-foot-1, 270 pounds. Compensating for any lack of size, Freeney was quick off the snap, mobile inside and out, fundamentally sound – and owned a spin move perfected after watching And1 Mixtapes. Although he joked that skill might have come from “jumping out of a second-story window at my babysitter’s house” when he was 2 years old.
“I want to thank this great game of football for giving me the opportunity to express myself and my creativity to the world,” he said as the first member of the Class of 2024 to be enshrined Saturday following a delay caused by severe storms – a delay that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd.
“I always felt like I was an artist, and the football field was my canvas, and I am forever grateful for that feeling.”
For his career, Freeney painted the canvas, uh, field, by totaling 125.5 sacks, 148 quarterback hits and 128 tackles for loss. In addition to paying tribute to his teammates – fellow Hall of Famers PEYTON MANNING, MARVIN HARRISON and EDGERRIN JAMES attended – and coaches during a compelling speech, Freeney also recalled how other Hall of Famers plagued NFL quarterbacks.
“I also want to thank some of those who paved the way for me, that happily, and intentionally used quarterbacks to soften their fall after they took them out,” he said, drawing laughs from the crowd – if not from guys who threw the ball. “JASON TAYLOR, MICHAEL STRAHAN, JOHN RANDLE, RICHARD DENT, RICKEY JACKSON, WARREN SAPP, BRUCE SMITH and LAWRENCE TAYLOR, who every Sunday I would run to the TV at 1 p.m. and watch him destroy another one of his opponents.”
Freeney did a pretty fair job of that, even though he initially seemed destined for soccer because both of his parents are Jamaican. A high school coach pulled him off the soccer field and over to the gridiron – a Hall of Fame move right there.
While thanking his family, a succession of coaches, teammates and friends, Freeney stressed what he sees as the secret to success. Perhaps he was directing his comments to members of the high school football team from nearby Rootstown, Ohio, who sat on the stadium floor.
“All of you know,” he said, “that nobody gets to this stage without hard work, sacrifice, and an amazing team and community around you.”
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
Previous Article
Class of 2024: Steve McMichael – Loved every minute of every down
Steve McMichael’s entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame was a home game.
Next Article
2024 Enshrinement under way after weather delay
Heavy rain and intermittent lighting caused the Pro Football Hall of Fame and its broadcast partners to delay to start of the enshrinement of the Class of 2024.