Darrin Nelson to be inducted to College Football Hall of Fame

May 23, 2014, 1:14 a.m.

Former Stanford running back Darrin Nelson has been selected to the 2014 class of the College Football Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation announced Thursday.

Nelson, the 18th Stanford player to be elected to the Hall of Fame, was a four-time All-Pac-10 selection and first team All-American. During his Stanford career that spanned from 1977-81, Nelson rushed for 4,033 yards, while also setting what was then an NCAA record with 6,885 career all-purpose yards. Nelson finished with more than 1,000 rushing yards and 50 receptions in three seasons, becoming the first player in college football to achieve this distinction even once.

After his Stanford career, Nelson enjoyed a successful 11-year career in the National Football League, in which he spent nine seasons with the Vikings and two seasons with the Chargers before retiring at the conclusion of the 1992 season. Nelson then returned to Stanford, spending 15 years as a member of the administration.

Nelson will be honored at a National Football Foundation dinner on Dec. 9 in New York City.

Do-Hyoung Park '16, M.S. '17 is the Minnesota Twins beat reporter at MLB.com, having somehow ensured that his endless hours sunk into The Daily became a shockingly viable career. He was previously the Chief Operating Officer and Business Manager at The Stanford Daily for FY17-18. He also covered Stanford football and baseball for five seasons as a student and served two terms as sports editor and four terms on the copy desk. He was also a color commentator for KZSU 90.1 FM's football broadcast team for the 2015-16 Rose Bowl season.

Login or create an account

Apply to The Daily’s High School Winter Program

Applications Due NOVEMBER 22

Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds