For a second consecutive year, former University of Alabama linebacker E.J. Junior was named to the 2019 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot, which was released on Monday.
Junior was also on last year’s ballot but was not chosen as part of the 2018 class.
Junior, a native of Nashville, was a member of the 1978 and 1979 National Championship teams under head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. In his senior season for the Crimson Tide, Junior earned the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, was a Lombardi finalist and was a consensus All-American.
As a sophomore on the 1978 team, Junior was one of the 11 Alabama defenders on the field for the Crimson Tide “goal line stand” that preserved a Sugar Bowl victory over Penn State.
He finished his career at the University of Alabama with 39 career tackles for loss. Since he ended his career Alabama has broken the record seven times, with the current record being held by Derrick Thomas, with 68 tackles for loss. He is also tied with Leroy Cook with most fumbles forced in a career, with 10.
Junior played in the NFL for 13 seasons. In that time he played for four different teams and accumulated 36.5 sacks and 12 interceptions. He started 120 of his career 170 games.
Players inducted must have been a First Team All-American, played their last year 10 years before, played in the last 50 years and can’t be playing professional football.
