Photo by: © Foto 1 Pro Photo/ Brent Kepner
WVU’s Tavon Austin, Jim Carlen on 2027 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Ballot
June 01, 2026 11:00 AM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Electrifying West Virginia University All-American wide receiver Tavon Austin is a first-time designee on the ballot for this year's College Football Hall of Fame released by the National Football Foundation (NFF) earlier today.
Austin was the first player in NCAA history to finish with more than 3,000 yards receiving and 1,000 yards rushing when his Mountaineer career concluded in 2012.
A semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award as college football's top wide receiver in 2012, Austin earned first team All-America honors by the American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press, CBS Sports and FOX Sports, and missed out on consensus All-America accolades because of a technicality.
Austin was listed on some All-America teams as a wide receiver and others as an all-purpose player.
He is the only player in school history to score touchdowns four different ways during his senior season in 2012 – by way of rush, pass, kickoff return and punt return.
His senior year totals included 114 catches for 1,289 yards and 12 touchdowns, 643 yards and three touchdowns rushing, 813 yards and a touchdown as a kickoff returner and 165 yards and a touchdown as a punt returner.
Added up, Austin accounted for a school-record 2,910 all-purpose yards that season and was the recipient of the Paul Hornung Award as the nation's most versatile player and the Jet Award as college football's top specialist.
For his career, the Baltimore, Maryland, native accounted for 7,286 career all-purpose yards, one of several school records he still holds.
Austin's performance in a 50-49 loss to 13th-ranked Oklahoma on Nov. 17, 2012, at Milan Puskar Stadium was one for the ages. Switched to running back before the game in a move orchestrated by coach Dana Holgorsen, Austin caught the Sooners off guard to rush for a career-high 344 yards with two touchdowns. He also caught four passes for 82 yards and returned eight kickoffs for 146 yards, accounting for a school-record 572 all-purpose yards.
Afterward, veteran Oklahoma reporter Berry Tramel called Austin's performance one of the greatest he had ever witnessed and compared him to Kansas and Chicago Bears Hall of Famer Gale Sayers.
A year prior, Austin helped West Virginia to a stunning 70-33 victory over 14th-ranked Clemson in the 2012 Discover Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, when he caught 12 passes for 123 yards and four touchdowns, while adding 117 yards in returns and 40 yards rushing.
WVU's victory over Clemson still ranks among the most memorable triumphs in school history.
After being taken in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams, Austin's professional career continued for nine seasons with six different teams. The receiver's best year came in 2016 with the Rams when he caught 58 passes for 509 yards and three touchdowns; rushed for 159 yards and a touchdown and returned 44 punts for 364 yards.
His NFL service time concluded with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021.
Meanwhile, Jim Carlen, a Cookeville, Tennessee, native, remains on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot after coaching 16 seasons at West Virginia, Texas Tech and South Carolina from 1966-81. His first four years at WVU from 1966-69 were transformational for a struggling Mountaineer grid program.
His final year at West Virginia in 1969 saw the Mountaineers win 10 games, defeat South Carolina in the Peach Bowl and return to the national rankings for the first time in 14 years. He had winning seasons in three of his four years at West Virginia and finished with a 25-13-1 record.
The Georgia Tech graduate had winning campaigns in four out of the five seasons he coached at Texas Tech and led the Red Raiders to two Sun Bowls, one Gator Bowl and a Peach Bowl from 1970-74. Carlen's best team at Tech in 1973 posted an 11-1 record, defeated 19th-ranked Arizona during the regular season, topped 14th-ranked Tennessee 28-19 in the Peach Bowl and ended the year ranked 11th in the country.
The following year, Carlen's team upset sixth-ranked Texas 26-3 and tied Vanderbilt 6-6 in the Peach Bowl.
Afterward, Carlen left Texas Tech for South Carolina where he revitalized the Gamecock program. Carlen had 8-4 seasons in 1979 and 1980 and coached Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers while he was there.
During his final campaign at South Carolina in 1981, his team upset third-ranked North Carolina and finished the year 6-6. He had 13 winning seasons out of 16 and owns a 107-69-6 career record with eight bowl appearances.
Carlen died July 22, 2012, in Hilton Head, South Carolina, at age 79.
In order for players to be eligible for the NFF College Football Hall of Fame ballot, they must have been named a first team All-American by a major national selector as recognized by the NCAA for its consensus All-America teams, played their last year of college football at least 10 full seasons prior, and cannot be currently playing professional football.
Eligible coaches must have coached a minimum of 10 years and 100 games as a head coach, won at least 60 percent of their games and be retired for at least three full seasons. If a coach is retired and over the age of 70, there is no waiting period.
Former consensus All-American defensive back Aaron Beasley, who was been on the Hall of Fame ballot in the past, was not on this year's ballot.
The announcement of the 2027 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class will be made in early 2027, with a specific time to be announced in the future, according to the National Football Foundation.
Austin was the first player in NCAA history to finish with more than 3,000 yards receiving and 1,000 yards rushing when his Mountaineer career concluded in 2012.
A semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award as college football's top wide receiver in 2012, Austin earned first team All-America honors by the American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press, CBS Sports and FOX Sports, and missed out on consensus All-America accolades because of a technicality.
Austin was listed on some All-America teams as a wide receiver and others as an all-purpose player.
He is the only player in school history to score touchdowns four different ways during his senior season in 2012 – by way of rush, pass, kickoff return and punt return.
His senior year totals included 114 catches for 1,289 yards and 12 touchdowns, 643 yards and three touchdowns rushing, 813 yards and a touchdown as a kickoff returner and 165 yards and a touchdown as a punt returner.
Added up, Austin accounted for a school-record 2,910 all-purpose yards that season and was the recipient of the Paul Hornung Award as the nation's most versatile player and the Jet Award as college football's top specialist.
For his career, the Baltimore, Maryland, native accounted for 7,286 career all-purpose yards, one of several school records he still holds.
Austin's performance in a 50-49 loss to 13th-ranked Oklahoma on Nov. 17, 2012, at Milan Puskar Stadium was one for the ages. Switched to running back before the game in a move orchestrated by coach Dana Holgorsen, Austin caught the Sooners off guard to rush for a career-high 344 yards with two touchdowns. He also caught four passes for 82 yards and returned eight kickoffs for 146 yards, accounting for a school-record 572 all-purpose yards.
Afterward, veteran Oklahoma reporter Berry Tramel called Austin's performance one of the greatest he had ever witnessed and compared him to Kansas and Chicago Bears Hall of Famer Gale Sayers.
A year prior, Austin helped West Virginia to a stunning 70-33 victory over 14th-ranked Clemson in the 2012 Discover Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, when he caught 12 passes for 123 yards and four touchdowns, while adding 117 yards in returns and 40 yards rushing.
WVU's victory over Clemson still ranks among the most memorable triumphs in school history.
After being taken in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams, Austin's professional career continued for nine seasons with six different teams. The receiver's best year came in 2016 with the Rams when he caught 58 passes for 509 yards and three touchdowns; rushed for 159 yards and a touchdown and returned 44 punts for 364 yards.
His NFL service time concluded with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021.
Meanwhile, Jim Carlen, a Cookeville, Tennessee, native, remains on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot after coaching 16 seasons at West Virginia, Texas Tech and South Carolina from 1966-81. His first four years at WVU from 1966-69 were transformational for a struggling Mountaineer grid program.His final year at West Virginia in 1969 saw the Mountaineers win 10 games, defeat South Carolina in the Peach Bowl and return to the national rankings for the first time in 14 years. He had winning seasons in three of his four years at West Virginia and finished with a 25-13-1 record.
The Georgia Tech graduate had winning campaigns in four out of the five seasons he coached at Texas Tech and led the Red Raiders to two Sun Bowls, one Gator Bowl and a Peach Bowl from 1970-74. Carlen's best team at Tech in 1973 posted an 11-1 record, defeated 19th-ranked Arizona during the regular season, topped 14th-ranked Tennessee 28-19 in the Peach Bowl and ended the year ranked 11th in the country.
The following year, Carlen's team upset sixth-ranked Texas 26-3 and tied Vanderbilt 6-6 in the Peach Bowl.
Afterward, Carlen left Texas Tech for South Carolina where he revitalized the Gamecock program. Carlen had 8-4 seasons in 1979 and 1980 and coached Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers while he was there.
During his final campaign at South Carolina in 1981, his team upset third-ranked North Carolina and finished the year 6-6. He had 13 winning seasons out of 16 and owns a 107-69-6 career record with eight bowl appearances.
Carlen died July 22, 2012, in Hilton Head, South Carolina, at age 79.
In order for players to be eligible for the NFF College Football Hall of Fame ballot, they must have been named a first team All-American by a major national selector as recognized by the NCAA for its consensus All-America teams, played their last year of college football at least 10 full seasons prior, and cannot be currently playing professional football.
Eligible coaches must have coached a minimum of 10 years and 100 games as a head coach, won at least 60 percent of their games and be retired for at least three full seasons. If a coach is retired and over the age of 70, there is no waiting period.
Former consensus All-American defensive back Aaron Beasley, who was been on the Hall of Fame ballot in the past, was not on this year's ballot.
The announcement of the 2027 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class will be made in early 2027, with a specific time to be announced in the future, according to the National Football Foundation.
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