National High School Football Hall of Fame 2025 class announced. See the honorees

Posted by author January 22, 2025 Football

Spread the love

CANTON ‒ The National High School Football Hall of Fame announced its 2025 class Wednesday with big names such as Leroy Kelly, Warren Moon, Ray Lewis, Mike Vrabel, Jim Thorpe and Michael Vick being honored.

This year’s class is made up of 33 athletes and coaches.

“High school football brings communities together on Friday nights to celebrate a local challenge and share traditions,” said David Brown, the assistant director of the organization. “This hall of fame strives to spotlight on the untold stories of the remarkable individuals who have shaped the game we all love.”

One of this year’s inductees is Percy Snow, a Canton McKinley alum. Born in 1967, the linebacker earned first team All-Ohio honors in his senior year in 1985. Following his high school career, he played at Michigan State, where he became a two-time, first-team All-American.

“Let this hall of fame serve as an inspiration to the next generation,” said Antonio Hall, former head football coach at Canton McKinley. “Let it remind young athletes that no matter where they start, their dreams are valid, and their hard work will pay off.”

Ohioans honored in this year’s High School Football Hall of Fame class

Ohio had many honorees this year. Nine of the 33 members of the 2025 class graduated from high schools in Ohio. Many of these came from Northeast Ohio, with Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Cuyahoga Falls and Lakewood making the list.

A good chunk of this year’s class had fruitful pro football careers following their high school days, including Vick, the former NFL quarterback, and Thorpe, the Canton Bulldogs star and Olympian.

Who is being inducted this year in the National High School Football Hall of Fame?

Here’s a look at the 2025 class:

Steve Atwater, Lutheran High North High School: St. Louis, Missouri
Charlie Batch, Steel Valley High School: Munhall, Pennsylvania
Jerry Butler, Ware Shoals High School: Ware Shoals, South Carolina
Andre Coleman, Hickory High School: Hermitage, Pennsylvania
Tim Couch, Leslie County High School: Hyden, Kentucky
Tom Cousineau, St. Edward’s High School: Lakewood, Ohio
Richard Dent, J.C. Murphy High School: Atlanta, Georgia
Hanford Dixon, Theodore High School: Theodore, Alabama
Luke Fickell, St. Francis DeSales High School: Columbus, Ohio
Jeff Herron, head coach for Camden County High School: Georgia
Craig James, Stratford High School: Houston, Texas
Leroy Kelly, Simon Gratz High School: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Ray Lewis, Kathleen High School: Lakeland, Florida
Frank Minnifield, Clay High School: Lexington, Kentucky
Warren Moon, Alexander Hamilton High School: Los Angeles, California
Eric Metcalf, Bishop O’ Connell High School: Arlington County, Virginia
Louis Riddick, Pennridge High School: Casey, Pennsylvania
Jim Render, Upper St. Clair High School: Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania
Bob Sebo, Salem High School: Salem, Ohio
Percy Snow, McKinley High School: Canton, Ohio
Troy Smith, Glenville High School: Cleveland, Ohio
Andre Smith, John F. Kennedy High School: Cleveland, Ohio
Micky Sullivan, head coach for Fork Union Military Academy: Virginia
Donnell Thompson, Lumberton High School: Lumberton, North Carolina
Jim Thorpe, Carlisle Indian Industrial School: Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Wally Triplett, Cheltenham High School: La Mott, Pennsylvania
Mike Vrabel, Walsh Jesuit High School: Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Virgil Walker, head coach from East Tech High School: Cleveland, Ohio
Zack Washington Sr., Jeannette High School: Jeannette, Pennsylvania
Tyrone Wheatley, Hamilton J. Robichaud High School: Dearborn Heights, Michigan
Lorenzo White, Dillard High School: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Antoine Winfield Sr., Garfield High School: Akron, Ohio
Michael Vick, Warwick High School: Newport News, Virginia

2025 class member: ‘I’m just absolutely humbled to be part of this

Sebo, a three-year halfback for Salem High who graduated in 1954, traveled to Canton on Thursday for the announcement. He said he was excited to be honored among so many great athletes.

“Football has been my way of life. I never did get to figure out how good I was due to some injuries, but those injuries drove me to be a football nut,” he said. “I had no idea that I was going to be fortunate enough to be in such a group of people.”

Sebo — the Salem Board of Education renamed the stadium Sebo Stadium in 2019 — said he’s glad that athletes are getting recognition at the high school level through the hall’s efforts.

“I’m just absolutely humbled to be part of this,” he said. “I’m so tickled that we’re going to have our own facility. That’s really something that is long overdue.”

Dixon, who went on to play for the Cleveland Browns, said he was impressed as he heard the names of this year’s class, and he’s happy he was one of them.

“I was talking to … Frank Minnifield, my partner in crime, before on my way here, and we just wanted to tell you guys how honored we are to be going into this 2025 class,” he said.

Induction ceremony set for this June, with a new facility slated for 2026

The induction ceremony for the 2025 class is set for June 14. In addition, a new 20,000-square-foot facility for the hall of fame is slated to open next year.

“The National High School Football Hall of Fame isn’t just a building in Canton,” Hall said. “It’s a tribute to the values we hold dear and the celebration of the journey that begins under those Friday night lights.”

Lamont Robinson, the founder and CEO of the foundation, has said the rich football history in the city makes Canton a perfect location for the facility. Canton is also home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Black College Football Hall of Fame.