Helix Charter High School alumnus Alex Smith, the star quarterback at the University of Utah from 2002-04, has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame 2024 class.
The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame unveiled the entire class on Jan. 8. It includes 19 First Team All-America players and three standout coaches.
The electees have been selected from the 2024 national ballot of 78 players and nine coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 101 players and 32 coaches from the divisional ranks.
The 2024 College Football Hall of Fame class will officially be inducted during the 66th NFF annual awards dinner on Dec. 10 at the Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
Making the grade
An exceptionally gifted passer and runner, Smith went 21-1 as a starter, establishing himself as a transformational player during a new era of college football and the emergence of the spread offense.
The Helix Charter High School alumnus becomes the first player from Utah to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.
Selected as a First Team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America in 2004, Smith finished fourth the Heisman Trophy voting while claiming Sports Illustrated National Player of the Year honors. A Mountain West Conference First Team selection in 2004 and Second Team in 2003, Smith led the Utes to MWC titles in 2003 and 2004. He was named the MWC Offensive Player of the Year in 2004.
Appearing in just two games as a freshman, Smith became the starter as a sophomore in 2003 after Urban Meyer took over as the Utes new head coach. In 11 games, Smith threw for 2,247 yards with 15 touchdowns, culminating with a win in the Liberty Bowl and a No. 21 final AP ranking.
The following season, Smith led Utah to its first-ever 12-0 season and a BCS bowl berth, the Fiesta Bowl against Pitt. Smith claimed MVP honors in the game, passing for 328 yards and four touchdowns in the 35-7 win.
The Fiesta Bowl appearance marked the first time a team from a non-automatically qualifying BCS conference played in a BCS bowl, earning the Utes the distinction as the inaugural “BCS Buster.” The Utes would finish at No. 4 in the final AP Poll.
During the 2004 season, Smith ranked second nationally in efficiency rating (176.5), third in yards per attempt (9.3), fifth in completion percentage (67.5), and fifth in passing touchdowns (32).
At the conference level, he set the record for career completion percentage (66.3 percent – now ranks fifth), and he led the MWC in passing (2,952 yards) and all-purpose yards per game (298.6) during 2004 season.
Smith holds Utes records for career pass efficiency (164.4), career yards per play (7.19), single season touchdown passes (32 in 2004) and single-season total touchdowns (42 in 2004). He set Utah records for career completion percentage (63.3 percent — now second), single-season pass efficiency (176.5 in 2004 — now second), and career quarterback wins (21 — now fourth).
Smith finished his career with 389 completions for 5,203 yards and 47 touchdowns, adding 286 rushes for 1,072 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground.
Smith also excelled in the classroom, earning CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year honors and as a First Team Academic All-America pick in 2004. He was also a two-time Academic All-Mountain West selection.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft by San Francisco, he played 16 years for the 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Commanders. He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection, and he was named the recipient of the 2020 NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award after recovering from a life-threatening injury to his leg.
Smith works as an ESPN analyst and public speaker. He founded the Alex Smith Foundation, which provides support for foster teens, and the Guardian Scholars Program, which helps foster youths transition to college.
He has testified at legislative hearings in California and in Congress on behalf of foster children, and the Boston Globe recognized his foundation in 2013 as one of the most effective athlete-run charities.
The Alex Smith Strength & Conditioning Center, which opened in the summer of 2009 at Utah, bears his name. He was inducted into the Utah Athletics
Hall of Fame in 2021 and the Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 2020.
Smith, who grew up in Bonita and attended Bonita Vista Middle School prior to attending Helix, earned recognition with teammate Reggie Bush as one of the top high school backfields in the nation.
Selection criteria
First and foremost, a player must have received First Team All-America recognition by a selector recognized by the NCAA and utilized to comprise its consensus All-America teams.
A player becomes eligible for consideration by the NFF’s Honors Court 10 full seasons after his final year of intercollegiate football played.
While each nominee’s football achievements in college are of prime consideration, his post football record as a citizen is also weighed. He must have proven himself worthy as a citizen, carrying the ideals of football forward into his relations with his community. Consideration may also be given for academic honors and whether or not the candidate earned a college degree.
Players must have played their last year of intercollegiate football within the last 50 years (with some exceptions). For example, to be eligible for the 2024 ballot, the player must have played his last year in 1974 or thereafter. In addition, current professional players and/or coaches are not eligible until retirement.
A coach becomes eligible three full seasons after retirement or immediately following retirement, provided he is at least 70 years old. Active coaches become eligible at 75 years of age. He must have been a head football coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage.
Quick facts
•When the 2024 Hall of Fame Class is officially inducted in December, only 1,093 players and 233 coaches will have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.71 million who have played or coached the game during the past 154 years. In other words, less than two one-hundredths of a percent of the individuals who have played the game have earned this distinction.
•Founded in 1947, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 1951. That first class included 32 players and 22 coaches, including Illinois’ Red Grange, Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne, Amos Alonzo Stagg and Carlisle’s Jim Thorpe.
•A total of 323 schools are represented with at least one College Football Hall of Famer.
