UNLV great Cunningham finally picked for College Football Hall of Fame

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Published Friday, Jan. 8, 2016 | 10:58 a.m.

Updated Friday, Jan. 8, 2016 | 12:46 p.m.

Randall Cunningham, the greatest football player in UNLV history, will join some of the sport’s other greats.

After more than a decade of waiting, Cunningham was picked today to join the College Football Hall of Fame. The quarterback Cunningham, who doubled as an all-American punter and in 1984 led UNLV to its first appearance in a bowl game, will be the first player in school history to be part the hall.

Cunningham, who passed for 8,020 career yards and 59 touchdowns in three UNLV seasons, still holds 13 school records.

As a punter, he averaged 45.6 yards per kick and was a two-time second-team All-American. As a junior and senior, Cunningham was the PCAA’s Offensive Player of the Year, including in 1984 when he led UNLV to a California Bowl victory against Toledo.

“I can’t express enough how truly excited we are about our own Randall Cunningham earning this great honor,” UNLV Director of Athletics Tina Kunzer-Murphy said in a statement. “I remember having the pleasure of watching him excel as both a punter and quarterback and it’s only fitting that one of the greatest Rebels in any sport is going to be UNLV’s first football player enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.”

Cunningham’s No. 12 is the lone jersey in program history that is retired. It was his 11th time on the ballot, being recommended by UNLV each year since 2006.

Former UNLV coach John Robinson is also part of the Hall of Fame — an honor mostly for his time at USC.

Cunningham was the first quarterback selected in the 1985 NFL Draft and was selected to four Pro Bowls in a lengthy career. He’s now the coach at Silverado High School and a local pastor.

It's such a blessing to be able to go back and tell these kids, "Your coach is in the College Football Hall of Fame." And just to know the honor and to be able to go back and tell them that you can do the same thing, it's a blessing," Cunningham said at a press conference announcing the selection class

Other picked today include: Marlin Briscoe (Nebraska Omaha), Derrick Brooks (Florida State), Tom Cousineau (Ohio State), Troy Davis (Iowa State), William Fuller (North Carolina), Bert Jones (LSU), Tim Krumrie (Wisconsin), Pat McInally (Harvard), Herb Orvis (Colorado), Bill Royce (Ashland [Ohio]), Mike Utley (Washington State), Scott Woerner (Georgia), Rod Woodson (Purdue), and coaches Bill Bowes (New Hampshire) and Frank Girardi (Lycoming Pa.)

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21