Art Monk will be inducted into the NFF College Football Hall of Fame tonight. Ryan Nassib will also be honored for being an NFF Scholar-Athlete.
Monk Enters the College Football Hall of Fame Tonight
12/4/2012 4:42:00 PM | Football
Art Monk Tribute Video | Hall of Fame Press Conference | Interview with Art Monk
Former Syracuse great, Art Monk, will have another honor to add to his list of many after tonight. The Pro Football Hall of Famer will be inducted into the NFF College Football Hall of Fame at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City this evening at 8 p.m. Fans can watch a live stream of the NFF Annual Awards Dinner, starting at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN3 and the NFF's homepage.
"To be honored for my college football career is more of a surprise to me than the Pro Football Hall of Fame because I never expected to go to college, first of all, and never really expected very much," Monk said. "I just wanted to be part of a winning team. Unfortunately in my time there we did not do very well. I don't really expect anything from it, so now, years later, to be recognized for that, I am just really grateful."
Monk's storied career began on the gridiron in his hometown of White Plains, N.Y.
"After my junior year my coach pulled me aside and said. 'There have been some college scouts coming through the school and they notice you on the field, but I could not tell them anything positive about you because you are not doing very well in the classroom.'," Monk said. "That kind of started a fire in me. For the remainder of my high school career I made sure I hit the books and then I played pretty well so at the end of the season I had some opportunities and Syracuse was one of them."
A versatile playmaker who entered college as a running back, he posted 31 kickoff returns for 675 yards and 44 punt returns for 430 yards. Monk ranks sixth in school history with 3,899 career all-purpose yards. The last player to lead Syracuse in receiving for three consecutive seasons, Monk led Syracuse to its first bowl victory in 13 years with a 31-7 win over McNeese State in the 1979 Independence Bowl. He earned All-America honors in 1979.
As a senior, Monk hauled in 40 receptions for 716 yards (17.9 yards per catch) with three touchdowns. He set a school record in 1977 for most receptions and receiving yards by a sophomore, catching 41 passes for 590 yards and four scores. With 1,644 career receiving yards in 35 games, Monk set a school record with a 47-receiving yards per game average. He recorded the greatest game by a receiver in Orange history on Nov. 5, 1977 against Navy, catching 14 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns.
"My college years were not only more fun, but there is a closer bond because you not only play together on the field, you lose together, you sweat together, you hurt together, but you also live together off the field, you go to class together, so you are with your teammates 24/7," Monk said. "It is a closer unit, you have more fun, (smiling) you are not under the supervision of mom and dad anymore so you free to do what you want to and experience life in a different way and meet people of different backgrounds and cultures. To me those were my best years."
In 1980, the Washington Redskins selected Monk with the 18th overall pick in the NFL Draft. During his 16-year NFL career, Monk played 14 seasons with the Redskins before joining the New York Jets for the 1994 campaign and playing with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1995. Monk played for the Redskins Super Bowl XVII, Super Bowl XXII and Super Bowl XXVI teams. He also won a Super Bowl ring as a member of the team in Super Bowl XVII, but did not play due to injury. Monk finished his 16 NFL seasons with 940 receptions for 12,721 yards and 68 touchdowns, along with 332 rushing yards.
Monk becomes the 10th Syracuse player to be inducted, including (in chronological order), Joe Alexander (1954), Lynn 'Pappy' Waldorf (1966), Vic Hanson (1973), Ernie Davis (1979), Floyd Little (1983), Larry Csonka (1989), Jim Brown (1995), Tim Green (2001) and Don McPherson (2008). Seven coaches with stops at Syracuse are in the hall, including: Howard Jones (1951), Frank O'Neill (1951), Tad Jones (1958), Biggie Munn (1959), Bud Wilkinson (1969), Ben Schwartzwalder (1982) and Dick MacPherson (2009).
"I am still surprised about all of the honors because I grew up just loving the game," Monk said. "I never expected to get anything out of it except playing and having opportunities to move forward. To now look back and see everything that has happened, I am still just amazed by it."
Including the 2012 FBS class, only 918 players and 200 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly five million people who have played or coached the game over the past 144 years. In other words, only two ten thousandths of one percent (.0002) of those who have set foot on the gridiron have earned the distinction. For a complete list of players and coaches in the hall, please visit www.collegefootball.org.
Former Syracuse great, Art Monk, will have another honor to add to his list of many after tonight. The Pro Football Hall of Famer will be inducted into the NFF College Football Hall of Fame at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City this evening at 8 p.m. Fans can watch a live stream of the NFF Annual Awards Dinner, starting at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN3 and the NFF's homepage.
"To be honored for my college football career is more of a surprise to me than the Pro Football Hall of Fame because I never expected to go to college, first of all, and never really expected very much," Monk said. "I just wanted to be part of a winning team. Unfortunately in my time there we did not do very well. I don't really expect anything from it, so now, years later, to be recognized for that, I am just really grateful."
Monk's storied career began on the gridiron in his hometown of White Plains, N.Y.
"After my junior year my coach pulled me aside and said. 'There have been some college scouts coming through the school and they notice you on the field, but I could not tell them anything positive about you because you are not doing very well in the classroom.'," Monk said. "That kind of started a fire in me. For the remainder of my high school career I made sure I hit the books and then I played pretty well so at the end of the season I had some opportunities and Syracuse was one of them."
A versatile playmaker who entered college as a running back, he posted 31 kickoff returns for 675 yards and 44 punt returns for 430 yards. Monk ranks sixth in school history with 3,899 career all-purpose yards. The last player to lead Syracuse in receiving for three consecutive seasons, Monk led Syracuse to its first bowl victory in 13 years with a 31-7 win over McNeese State in the 1979 Independence Bowl. He earned All-America honors in 1979.
As a senior, Monk hauled in 40 receptions for 716 yards (17.9 yards per catch) with three touchdowns. He set a school record in 1977 for most receptions and receiving yards by a sophomore, catching 41 passes for 590 yards and four scores. With 1,644 career receiving yards in 35 games, Monk set a school record with a 47-receiving yards per game average. He recorded the greatest game by a receiver in Orange history on Nov. 5, 1977 against Navy, catching 14 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns.
"My college years were not only more fun, but there is a closer bond because you not only play together on the field, you lose together, you sweat together, you hurt together, but you also live together off the field, you go to class together, so you are with your teammates 24/7," Monk said. "It is a closer unit, you have more fun, (smiling) you are not under the supervision of mom and dad anymore so you free to do what you want to and experience life in a different way and meet people of different backgrounds and cultures. To me those were my best years."
In 1980, the Washington Redskins selected Monk with the 18th overall pick in the NFL Draft. During his 16-year NFL career, Monk played 14 seasons with the Redskins before joining the New York Jets for the 1994 campaign and playing with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1995. Monk played for the Redskins Super Bowl XVII, Super Bowl XXII and Super Bowl XXVI teams. He also won a Super Bowl ring as a member of the team in Super Bowl XVII, but did not play due to injury. Monk finished his 16 NFL seasons with 940 receptions for 12,721 yards and 68 touchdowns, along with 332 rushing yards.
Monk becomes the 10th Syracuse player to be inducted, including (in chronological order), Joe Alexander (1954), Lynn 'Pappy' Waldorf (1966), Vic Hanson (1973), Ernie Davis (1979), Floyd Little (1983), Larry Csonka (1989), Jim Brown (1995), Tim Green (2001) and Don McPherson (2008). Seven coaches with stops at Syracuse are in the hall, including: Howard Jones (1951), Frank O'Neill (1951), Tad Jones (1958), Biggie Munn (1959), Bud Wilkinson (1969), Ben Schwartzwalder (1982) and Dick MacPherson (2009).
"I am still surprised about all of the honors because I grew up just loving the game," Monk said. "I never expected to get anything out of it except playing and having opportunities to move forward. To now look back and see everything that has happened, I am still just amazed by it."
Including the 2012 FBS class, only 918 players and 200 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly five million people who have played or coached the game over the past 144 years. In other words, only two ten thousandths of one percent (.0002) of those who have set foot on the gridiron have earned the distinction. For a complete list of players and coaches in the hall, please visit www.collegefootball.org.
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