Three Florida State legends are on the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023, it was announced Monday.
Running back Warrick Dunn, kicker Sebastian Janikowski and wide receiver Peter Warrick are among the 80 FBS players vying for selection to the College Football Hall of Fame. Florida State is one of eight schools with the maximum number of players on this year’s ballot.
Dunn, who was a Freshman All-American in 1993 while helping Florida State win its first national championship, earned first-team All-America honors in 1996 as FSU played for another national title. He appeared in 41 games and rushed 575 times for 3,959 yards and 37 touchdowns while adding 132 receptions for 1,314 yards and 12 touchdowns. Playing in an era before statistics from bowl games counted toward career totals, Dunn became the first player in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in three different seasons and left FSU as the program’s career rushing yards record holder. A member of the ACC’s 50th Anniversary Team in 2002, his jersey was retired by Florida State in 1997 and he was inducted into the FSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.
He still holds program records with 22 career 100-yard rushing games, including a school-record streak of six straight 100-yard games in 1995, a single-season yards-per-rush average of 7.5 from 1995 and a career average of 6.9 yards per rush. He broke the program’s single-season rushing record with 1,242 yards in 1995 and followed that with 1,180 yards, the third-highest total in program history at the time and still the school record for rushing yards by a senior, in 1996. He was a three-time first-team All-ACC selection and was named MVP of the Sugar Bowl following the 1994 season after posting 182 yards of total offense, showing his versatility by rushing for 58 yards, completing a 73-yard touchdown pass and grabbing nine receptions for 51 yards.
Janikowski was a two-time consensus All-American and is still the only two-time winner of the Lou Groza Award, bringing the trophy back to Tallahassee in 1998 and 1999. In his time at FSU, he made 66 field goal attempts and added 126 PATs for a total of 324 points. Despite only playing three college seasons, Janikowski left FSU holding the program’s career record by making 79.5 percent of his field goal attempts, ranked second with five 50-yard field goals and third in program history with 324 career points scored and with 66 career made field goals. He was named to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary Team in 2002.
He earned Freshman All-America honors in 1997 after a campaign that included a then-school-record 56-yard field goal against Wake Forest. As a sophomore, Janikowski broke Florida State and ACC single-season records with 27 made field goals and 123 points scored while also leading the NCAA by making 84.4 percent of his field goal attempts. His final year featured a perfect 47-for-47 on PATs and an NCAA-best 23 made field goals to lead the ACC with 116 points while helping Florida State win its second national championship in program history.
Warrick was a two-time consensus All-American who still holds the FSU record with 32 career receiving touchdowns. His 3,517 career receiving yards were the most in ACC history and ranked second on FSU’s all-time list, and Warrick also ranked second in program history with 207 receptions, 15 100-yard receiving games and an average of 4.81 receptions per game. The Bradenton, Florida, native was inducted into the FSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010, had his jersey retired by FSU in 2018 and was a member of the ACC’s 50th Anniversary Team in 2002.
One of the most electrifying players in college football history, Warrick helped lead the Seminoles to a 45-4 record and the 1999 national championship in his FSU career. He was named MVP of the national title game, a 46-29 victory over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl, after catching six passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns while adding another score on a 59-yard punt return. His performance helped the 1999 team become the only team in college football history to go wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the nation.
To be eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame, players must have received first-team All-America recognition, be 10 years removed from their final college football season and have completed their professional football career. The evaluation also includes candidates’ records as a citizen and academic honors.
