Several former Panthers players and coaches are on the 2021 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Julius Peppers, Carolina's all-time sack leader and a nine-time Pro Bowler, is on the ballot for a second time after being listed in 2019, the first year he was eligible.
Peppers played three seasons at the University of North Carolina, winning the Chuck Bednarik Award for the nation's best defensive player in 2001. He was a two-time All-American and was drafted second overall by the Panthers in the 2002 Draft.
Earlier this year, Peppers was selected to join the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
Also on the ballot are:
- Dan Morgan, Carolina's middle linebacker from 2001-07 and a Pro Bowler in 2004. Morgan was a first-team All-American at Miami (Fla.) where he became the first player to sweep the Butkus, Bednarik and Nagurski awards in one season, and he's still the Hurricanes' all-time leader in tackles. Morgan was drafted 11th overall by the Panthers in 2001.
- Cornerback Tyrone Poole, who was drafted by Carolina in the first round of the 1995 draft and played three seasons with the Panthers. He was a first-team All-American out of Fort Valley State back in 1994.
- Al Lucas, an undrafted defensive lineman who played for Carolina in 2000-01, earned posthumous inclusion on the ballot for his career at Troy State. He won the Buck Buchanan Award as the most outstanding defensive player in NCAA Division I-AA in 1999.
- Ron Rivera, Carolina's former head coach who won 76 games between 2011-19, and who was a first-team All-American at California in 1983.
- Former assistant coaches Ken Dorsey (Miami) and Jack Del Rio (USC). Dorsey was Carolina's quarterbacks coach from 2013-17, while Del Rio was defensive coordinator in 2002.
