Indiana Football: Is Randle El a college football Hall of Famer?

The Indiana football team has a former Hoosier on the ballot for the college football Hall of Frame for 2021, but should he make it?

Antwaan Randle El was one of the most successful football players in the history of the Indiana program. He went on to have a fairly successful NFL career including a Super Bowl Championship with the Pittsburgh Steelers where he threw a touchdown pass on a reverse pass.

Randle El was an electric quarterback for the Hoosiers, deadly with both his arm and legs. He was a force in the Big Ten but the Hoosiers still had a tough time winning games and never made a bowl game during his time with them.

But even without the bowl game he still had a great career and it could lead him to a college football Hall of Fame induction. On Sunday it was announced that he is on the ballot for the 2021 class.

The question, though, is if Randle El did enough to be considered a Hall of Famer. He threw for 7,469 yards with 42 touchdowns but also threw 37 interceptions. But his value with his legs might be what separates him when it comes to voting. He ran for 3,895 yards and 44 touchdowns. He also caught seven touchdowns in his career.

The dual-threat that Randle El possessed made him one of the most dangerous quarterbacks during his time, but the lack of wins for the Hoosiers during his career will be a blemish on his resume. It could be enough to keep him from getting enough votes to make it.

While Randle El did both very well, he still wouldn’t be considered one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in college football history. But there have been players like Randle El make the Hall of Fame.

The problem that he will face is the lack of wins combined with the fact that he isn’t one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in college football history. Yes, wins shouldn’t be the deciding factor, but for quarterbacks, that is how they are judged. He may lose out on the Hall of Fame because of the lack of wins.

Randle El will go down as one of the best players in Indiana history, but will it be enough to get him to the pinnacle of college football? Hoosiers fans hope so and he has good enough numbers to be considered.

We will find out in early 2021 if he makes the cut. Randle El would become the seventh Hoosier all-time to make the Hall of Fame. He would join Zora Clevinger, Bill Ingram, Pete Pihos, George Taliaferro, John Tavener, and Anthony Thompson. Thompson won college player of the year in 1989 and was the first Hoosier to ever do that.

Randle El will hold a special place in Hoosier fan’s hearts and they hope he will join the other Hoosier greats in the Hall of Fame.