Joe Thomas (Photo by David Stluka)
The National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame released its 2019 Class on Monday.
The Class is made up of 13 players and two coaches, including a pair of players tied to the Big Ten and one to the Green Bay Packers.
Former Wisconsin two-time All-American tackle Joe Thomas is considered the best offensive lineman to ever play at Wisconsin. Thomas won the Outland Trophy as the nation’s best interior lineman as a senior and was selected with the third overall pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2007 NFL Draft.
Thomas was named to the Pro Bowl in 10 of his 11 seasons in the NFL. He didn’t miss a single snap until his final season (2017) when he suffered a torn left triceps in Week seven against Tennessee and had season ending surgery. It ended a string of 10,363 consecutive plays, which is an NFL record.
Thomas is expected to be a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer, but he’ll first be honored by the College Football Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Buckley honored
The 2019 Class will also include former Green Bay Packers 1992 1st round draft pick Terrell Buckley.
Buckley was a 1991 Unanimous 1st team All-American and winner of the Thorpe Award. He led the nation in interceptions his senior season with 12. Buckley finished as the Seminoles all-time leader in interceptions with 21.
Buckley played only three seasons with the Packers but went on to play 13 years in the NFL, collecting 50 career interceptions.
The entire 2019 Class can be found here.