Texas Tech football's Graham Harrell inducted to College Football HOF

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Graham Harrell grew up with a goal of being a Texas high school football coach like his father, Sam.

Along the way, he developed into a heck of a player. Harrell put up some of the most prolific passing stats in Texas schoolboy history and then, when he hooked up with coach Mike Leach and wide receiver Michael Crabtree, they took it to another level with the Texas Tech football program.

Harrell was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame during the National Football Foundation’s annual awards dinner on Tuesday, Dec. 9, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Earlier this fall, he was inducted into the Tech football Ring of Honor, becoming the 12th member of that exclusive club.

As a Red Raiders quarterback from 2005 through 2008, Harrell passed for 15,793 yards and 134 touchdowns. In his senior season, he threw for 5,111 yards and 45 TDs, leading the Red Raiders to an 11-2 record and finishing fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting.

“None of us would be here without a bunch of people around us,” Harrell said Tuesday during a pre-induction press conference, “and Mike Leach obviously played a huge role in that. And it wasn’t just coach Leach. He had an incredible staff. I really do feel like I’ve been one of the most fortunate people in the world, as far as people go.

“I got to play for my dad in high school, and then I got to go play for coach Leach, but on that staff there’s Dana Holgorsen and Sonny Dykes, Seth Littrell and a handful of others. … Coming into the Hall of Fame is not just honoring me, but a lot of people that were with me there.”

The 22-member class includes Michael Vick and Michael Strahan among the 18 players and Nick Saban and Urban Meyer among four coaches.

Harrell is the seventh former Texas Tech player to make the College Football Hall of Fame. He follows E.J. Holub (inducted in 1986), Donny Anderson (1989), Dave Parks (2008), Gabe Rivera (2012), Zach Thomas (2015) and Crabtree (2022).

The 40-year-old Harrell is now associate head coach, co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Abilene Christian, whose season ended Saturday with a second-round loss in the FCS playoffs.

Harrell said he still uses principles he learned from Leach. Among them, being simple on offense and getting good at a small number of plays through repetition.

“To me, that’s what the air-raid offense has become,” Harrell said, “is, ‘We don’t have time to be good at everything, so let’s have an identity and be really good at it.’

“There’s still a lot of schematics that come from it,” Harrell said, “but I think it’s more of a philosophy than a true Xs and Os anymore. I don’t know if anyone will ever try what Leach did again.”

COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME

CLASS OF 2025

PLAYERS

Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin (2009-12); Gregg Carr, LB, Auburn (1981-84), Blake Elliott, WR, Saint John’s (Minn.), 2000-03; Greg Eslinger, C, Minnesota (2002-05); Terry Hanratty, QB, Notre Dame (1966-68); Graham Harrell, QB, Texas Tech (2005-08); John Henderson, DT, Tennessee (1999-2001); Michael Huff, DB, Texas (2002-05); Jim Kleinsasser, TE, North Dakota (1995-98); Alex Mack, C, California (2005-08); Terrence Metcalf, OL, Mississippi (1997, 1999-2001); Haloti Ngata, DT, Oregon (2002, 2004-05); Steve Slaton, RB, West Virginia (2005-07); Darrin Smith, LB, Miami, Fla. (1989-92); Michael Strahan, DL, Texas Southern (1989-92); Dennis Thurman, DB, Southern California (1974-77); Michael Vick, QB, Virginia Tech (1999-2000); Ryan Yarborough, WR, Wyoming (1990-93).

COACHES

Larry Blakeney, 178-113-1 record at Troy (1991-2014); Larry Korver, 212-77-6 at Northwestern College (Iowa) (1967-94); Urban Meyer, 187-32-0 at Bowling Green (2001-02), Utah (2003-04), Florida (2005-10) and Ohio State (2012-18); Nick Saban, 297-71-1 at Toledo (1990), Michigan State (1995-99), LSU (2000-04) and Alabama (2007-23).

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football’s Graham Harrell inducted to College Football HOF

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