FSU greats Warrick Dunn, Peter Warrick named to College Football Hall of Fame ballot

Marvin Jones became the 10th Florida State Seminole inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame when he was selected as part of the 2022 class, and the Seminoles now should have a very good chance of No. 11 coming in the class of 2024.

A pair of Florida State legends — running back Warrick Dunn and wide receiver Peter Warrick — are on the new Hall of Fame ballot, which was released Monday morning.

Here’s the release from FSU with background on each of their careers:

Florida State legends Warrick Dunn, a running back from 1993-96, and Peter Warrick, a wide receiver from 1996-99, are on the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024, it was announced Monday. The pair are among 78 FBS players vying for selection to the College Football Hall of Fame.

Dunn, 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 and showing his versatility by rushing for 58 yards, completing a 73-yard touchdown pass and grabbing nine receptions for 51 yards.

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.

Linebacker Marvin Jones was part of the Class of 2022 and became the 10th Seminole in the College Football Hall of Fame, including Dunn’s teammates Charlie Ward (2006) and Derrick Brooks (2016), as well as head coach Bobby Bowden (2006).

Ron Sellers (1988), Fred Biletnikoff (1991), head coach Darrell Mudra (2000), Ron Simmons (2009), Deion Sanders (2011) and Terrell Buckley (2019) are also enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.