IRVING, Texas - Former Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers is nominated on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot for the 2022 class.
Carolina's all-time sack leader and a nine-time Pro Bowler, Peppers is on the ballot for a third time after being listed in 2019 and 2020.
A native of Bailey, N.C., 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.
In 2020, he was was selected to join the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
Also on the ballot this year are some other Panthers connections:
- 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 coach Ken Dorsey (Miami), Carolina's quarterbacks coach from 2013-17.
