The National Football Foundation recently announced that Los Angeles Rams legend Eric Dickerson is among 16 former players that will join the College Football Hall of Fame in 2020. Dickerson was selected out of a pool of nearly 200 players.
Of course, Dickerson’s résumé speaks for itself. During his four years at Southern Methodist University, he totaled 4,450 rushing yards and 47 rushing touchdowns. Dickerson still holds the SMU record for most career rushing yards and is tied for most career rushing touchdowns.
Dickerson finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting during his senior year in which he totaled 1,617 rushing yards. That still stands as the SMU highest single-season total for rushing yards.
After his record-setting years in college, Dickerson was selected second overall by the Rams in the 1983 NFL Draft. He spent his first four years with the Rams, totaling 6,968 yards in that time, accounting for the most rushing yards by any NFL player in their first four years. Dickerson also still holds the NFL single-season rushing yards record with 2,105, a feat he accomplished in just his second season.
Dickerson eventually was traded to the Indianapolis Colts during his fifth season. He would spend four more seasons there before moving on to the Los Angeles Raiders and Atlanta Falcons, respectively. He retired in 1993 with the second-most rushing yards in NFL history, now sitting in the ninth spot.
He still holds the record for the second-most rushing yards in Rams history. Steven Jackson holds the No. 1 spot with over 10,000 yards and Todd Gurley is making his best efforts to climb up the ladder. Gurley currently sits with the sixth-most Rams rushing yards with over 5,000.
Dickerson finished his professional career as a six-time Pro Bowler, a five-time All-Pro selection, a one-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year and the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999, which makes his addition to the College Football Hall of Fame a no-brainer.
