Michigan State's Mark Dantonio, Flozell Adams, Gideon Smith, Darryl Rogers on Hall of Fame ballot

East Lansing, Mich. – Former Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio is among four former Spartans who will be on the ballot for College Football Hall of Fame voting in 2024, joining Flozell Adams, Gideon Smith and Darryl Rogers.

They are among 78 players and nine coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision level who will be on the ballot, in addition to 101 players and 32 coaches from the divisional ranks. 

The ballot was emailed on Monday to more than 12,000 National Football Foundation members and current Hall of Famers whose votes will be counted and submitted to the NFF’s Honors Court, which will discuss the voting and select the class. 

The NFF’s Honors Court is chaired by NFF  Board Member and two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin and includes a pool of athletic administrators, Hall of Famers and members of the media. 

The induction class will be revealed in early 2024.

Below are bio sketches for Adams, Dantonio and Rogers provided by MSUSpartans.com:

Flozell Adams (OT, 6-7, 300, Bellwood, Ill.): Earned first-team All-America honors from the Walter Camp Foundation as a senior in 1997 . . . one of only three Spartans to be named the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year . . . started all 12 games at left tackle in 1997 and helped the Spartans to a No. 24 ranking in rushing offense (199.5 ypg) . . . also opened holes for MSU running backs who tallied 100 or more yards seven times during the season . . . allowed just two sacks and recorded 37 pancakes . . . in his final game at Spartan Stadium, he graded out 89 percent overall with a season-high six pancakes vs. Penn State as MSU gained 452 yards on the ground, the most ever allowed by the Nittany Lions . . . named recipient of MSU’s President’s Award in 1997 . . . three-year starter (left tackle in 1997; right tackle in 1995-96) . . . four-year letterwinner (1994-97) . . . was an honorable mention All-Big Ten choice in 1995, a second-team All-Big Ten pick in 1996, and a first-team all-league honoree in 1997 . . . drafted in the second round (No. 38 overall) by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1998 NFL Draft . . . played 13 seasons in the NFL, 12 with Dallas (1998-2009) and one with Pittsburgh (2010) . . . five-time Pro Bowler played in 198 career games, including 194 starts . . . his final game was in Super Bowl XLV with the Steelers.

Mark Dantonio (Head Coach; Michigan State, 2007-19): After a storied 13 seasons as head coach of the Michigan State football program, Dantonio retired as the winningest coach in Spartan history on Feb. 4, 2020 . . . finished his career with a record of 114-57 (.667) in East Lansing and 132-74 (.641) in 16 seasons overall . . . during his time at the helm of the Spartan program, Dantonio compiled an impressive list of accomplishments, including three Big Ten Championships (2010, 2013, 2015), two victories in the Big Ten Championship Game (2013, 2015), victories in the 2014 Rose Bowl and the 2015 Cotton Bowl, and an appearance in the 2015 College Football Playoff . . . beyond his record for most victories at MSU, Dantonio won more Big Ten Championships (three) and bowl games (six) than any other coach in school history, while also ranking first with 12 bowl appearances . . . his .639 (69-39) winning percentage in Big Ten games is a school record, while he stands tied for first in AP Top 25 finishes (seven) and second in Big Ten wins (69), home wins (67) and AP Top 25 wins (21) . . . a two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (2010, 2013), Dantonio led Michigan State to Top 25 finishes seven times (2008: No. 24 in both polls; 2010: No. 14 in both polls; 2011: No. 10 USA TODAY/No. 11 AP; 2013: No. 3 in both polls; 2014: No. 5 in both polls; 2015: No. 6 in both polls; 2017: No. 15 AP/No. 16 USA TODAY) . . . the seven AP Top-25 finishes tied for first in school history, along with Duffy Daugherty . . . MSU was the only school to finish in the top-six of the national polls from 2013-15 (No. 3 in 2013, No. 5 in 2014, No. 6 in 2015) and the 36 wins from 2013-15 marked the winningest three-year stretch in the history of the program . . . the 2010s decade was the greatest in Michigan State history based on total wins, as the Spartans posted a 92-40 (.697) record from 2010-19 . . . had 11 winning seasons in his 13 years in East Lansing, tying Daugherty for the most winning seasons by a Spartan head coach . . . a Zanesville, Ohio, native with Midwest ties, Dantonio spent 40 years in collegiate coaching, including 16 seasons as a head coach (three at Cincinnati from 2004-06; 13 at Michigan State from 2007-19) and 19 seasons overall in East Lansing (served as the Spartan secondary coach from 1995-2000).

Darryl Rogers (Head Coach; Michigan State, 1976-79): Guided the Spartans to a 24-18-2 record (.568) in four years as head coach at Michigan State from 1976-79 and coached three first-team All-Americans (wide receiver Kirk Gibson, tight end Mark Brammer and punter Ray Stachowicz) . . . led the Spartans to the 1978 Big Ten championship, claiming the school’s fourth conference title . . . honored as the 1978 Big Ten Coach of the Year after the Spartans closed the championship season on a seven-game winning streak, which started with a 24-15 victory at Michigan, to finish the year 8-3 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten . . . 1978 team featured one of the top offenses in school history, setting then MSU single-season records for points scored (411) and scoring average (37.4 points per game) . . . spent 20 seasons as a college head coach (Cal State Hayward, 1965; Fresno State, 1966-72; San Jose State, 1973-75; Michigan State, 1976-79; Arizona State, 1980-84) . . . passed away at the age of 84 on July 11, 2018.

Gideon Smith (Lineman, Salem, Va.): Was the first African American to play intercollegiate athletics at Michigan State and a three-year letterwinner from 1913-15. He is on the ballot in the divisional coaching category. Smith coached at Hampton University from 1921-40 and led the Pirates to the 1922 Black College National Championship. He recorded four CIAA titles and two unbeaten seasons in his career. The longest tenured coach in Hampton history, Smith has the second-most wins all-time at the school.

In 2019, running back Lorenzo White was the 10th Spartan inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, joining halfback John Pingel (inducted in 1968), tackle Don Coleman (1975), linebacker George Webster (1987), defensive end Bubba Smith (1988), safety Brad Van Pelt (2001), wide receiver Gene Washington (2011), linebacker Percy Snow (2013), running back Clinton Jones (2015) and wide receiver Kirk Gibson (2017). MSU has four former coaches enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame: Clarence “Biggie” Munn, Charles Bachman, Duffy Daugherty and Frank “Muddy” Waters.