ATLANTA, Ga. – The Mississippi Valley State University football program will have a chance to add three more players to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2023 Parnell Dickinson (Quarterback), Vincent Brown (Linebacker), and Bob Gaddis (Wide Receiver) have been placed on the ballot, announced on Monday.
The ballot was sent out to over 12,000 National Football Foundation members plus current College Football Hall of Famers who will cast their vote by June 30 to select the lucky few out of the 176 players and 42 coaches who will get the elusive call.
Dickinson, the first quarterback to ever be drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, earned the nickname “Paydirt” as he concluded his collegiate career as the SWAC’s all-time leader in total offensive yards with 7,442. He was selected as the Pittsburgh Courier National Player of the Year and received First Team All-American honors in 1975 while winning SWAC Player of the Year in his final season to go along with making the all-conference squad all four years in The Delta.
Brown, who had an eight-year tenure with the New England Patriots and currently holds the title of Defensive Coordinator at William & Mary, was a two-time All-Conference selection that led the Devils in tackles during his final three seasons. The 1987 First Team All-American led the NCAA in tackles for both the 1986 and 1987 campaigns, setting the All-Divisions career tackles record of 570 takedowns.
Gaddis, a five-year CFL veteran who won a Grey Cup with the Montreal Alouettes (1977), also was a First Team All-American (1974) on top of being recognized as that season’s Pittsburgh Courier National Receiver of the Year. The 1975 13th round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers was awarded the NAIA Freshman of the Year (1970) before terrorizing the league by leading the nation in yards per catch during the 1971 and 1972 campaigns as well as leading the SWAC in that category all four seasons in Itta Bena with three All-SWAC selections to boot.
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