ARLINGTON, Texas – The 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class, revealed by the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame, is highlighted by three Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic alums – former Texas standout Kenneth Sims, former Notre Dame standout Aaron Taylor and former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops.
 
Sims was a member a Longhorns squad that Alabama 14-12 in the 1982 Classic, Taylor's Fighting Irish scored back-to-back Classic wins over Texas A&M in the 1993 (28-3) and 1994 (24-21) Classics and Stoops coached the Sooners in two Classics (2002 and 2013).
 
The 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class will officially be inducted during the 63rd NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 7 alongside the 2020 Hall of Fame Class.
 
Kenneth Sims, Texas - Defensive Tackle, 1978-81
Kenneth Sims was so dominant in 1981 that he became Texas' first-ever winner of the Lombardi Award despite being sidelined following the ninth game of the season due to injury. The Groesbeck, Texas, native becomes the 20th Longhorn player to enter the College Football Hall of Fame
 
A two-time First Team All-American, Sims earned unanimous honors as a senior and consensus laurels as a junior. The 1981 UPI Lineman of the Year finished eighth for the Heisman Trophy, receiving three first-place votes. Sims' 23 tackles for loss that season were a then-school record. He also led Texas to four wins over top 15 teams during stellar senior campaign, including a 12-tackle performance in a decisive 34-14 win over No. 10 Oklahoma.
 
The two-time consensus First Team All-Southwest Conference selection led the Longhorns to four consecutive postseason berths, including wins in the 1978 Sun Bowl and the 1982 Cotton Bowl. The 1981 team captain guided Texas to three top 25 finishes: No. 9 in 1978, No. 12 in 1979 and No. 2 in 1981. The two-time team MVP boasts the Longhorn record with 15 career forced fumbles. On the Texas career charts, Sims ranks fourth in sacks (29), fifth in fumble recoveries (seven) and ninth in tackles for loss (50). His other honors include the 1981 Houston Post SWC Defensive MVP Trophy and a 1982 NCAA Today's Top V Award. Sims was inducted into the University of Texas Athletics Hall of Honor in 1997.
 
The first overall pick in the 1982 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, Sims spent his entire pro career with the franchise from 1982-89. He helped guide the team to an appearance in Super Bowl XX following the 1985 season.
 
A dedicated supporter of Texas Athletics, Sims has participated in numerous letterman functions. He is also an annual volunteer for the Grays Harbor Football Camp, a free youth event. Now retired, Sims resides in Round Rock, Texas.
 
Aaron Taylor, Notre Dame - Offensive Tackle, 1990-93
At a school with a long history of stellar offensive lineman, Aaron Taylor was one of the best to ever suit up at Notre Dame. A monster in the trenches, he becomes the 48th Fighting Irish player to enter the College Football Hall of Fame, the most of any school.
 
A two-time First Team All-American, Taylor earned unanimous honors in 1993 and consensus recognition in 1992. The anchor for one of the best stretches of Notre Dame football in the last three decades, the Irish went 40-8-1 and won three major bowl games (1992 Sugar Bowl and the 1993 and 1994 Cotton Bowl Classics) during his career. The 1993 Lombardi Award recipient as the nation's top lineman, Taylor also won the Jim Parker Award from the Touchdown Club of Columbus, and he was a finalist for the Outland Trophy. The senior team captain guided the Fighting Irish to top-15 finishes every year of his career: No. 6 in 1990, No. 13 in 1991, No. 4 in 1992 and No. 2 in 1993.
 
The 1993 Moose Krause Lineman of the Year, Taylor blocked for consecutive 1,000-yard rushers in Reggie Brooks (1992) and Lee Becton (1993). He burst onto the scene in Notre Dame's upset of Florida in the 1992 Sugar Bowl when Jerome Bettis scored two of his three touchdowns behind Taylor's blocks. Starting the final 30-straight games of his career, he helped pave the way for an Irish run game that averaged 275 yards per game and tallied 71 rushing touchdowns from 1992-93. During his time at Notre Dame, the Bay Area native played for College Football Hall of Fame Coach Lou Holtz and alongside Hall of Famers Raghib "Rocket" Ismail and Chris Zorich.
 
A first-round pick by the Green Bay Packers in the 1994 NFL Draft, Taylor played for the franchise from 1994-97 and helped them win Super Bowl XXXI. He finished his pro career with the San Diego Chargers from 1998-99.
 
Taylor spent five months volunteering for Teaching and Projects Abroad, teaching English to high school students in South America. He also funded a project in Sri Lanka that built a community center and 40 temporary houses in the village of Kosgoda after a tsunami. Taylor helped establish The Joe Moore Foundation for Teamwork in honor of his offensive line coach at Notre Dame, and he created the Joe Moore Award, which is given annually to college football's most outstanding offensive line. In 2007, he received the Harvey G. Foster Award from the Notre Dame Alumni Association for distinguished civic service. The founder of the Aaron Taylor IMPACT Fund, he can be seen during the fall as a college football analyst for CBS Sports.
 
Bob Stoops, Oklahoma - Head Coach, 1999-2016 (190-48-0, .798)
Oklahoma's all-time winningest coach, Bob Stoops is the only coach in history to win a national championship and all four BCS bowl games. He posted a 79.8 winning percentage during his remarkable 18-year tenure, returning the Sooners to one of the elite programs in college football. Stoops is the sixth Oklahoma coach to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
 
Prior to his arrival at Oklahoma, the proud Sooner program was five years removed from a winning record and hadn't produced double-digit victories since 1987. Coaching at Oklahoma from 1999-2016, Stoops never had a losing record en route to a school record 190 career wins, including 14 seasons of 10-plus victories (the most of an FBS coach from 2000-16). He led the Sooners to four BCS National Championship Game appearances, winning the 2000 national title after a perfect 13-0 season that culminated with a win over Florida State in the Orange Bowl. Leading OU to a bowl game in each of his 18 seasons (a school record), Stoops claimed nine postseason victories, including wins in the Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Rose and Sugar bowls. The sixth-fastest coach to ever reach 150 wins (187 games), he guided the Sooners to top 25 finishes in all but three seasons, including seven top five rankings.
 
A two-time national coach of the year and six-time Big 12 Coach of the Year, Stoops led Oklahoma to 10 Big 12 titles while posting an impressive 121-29 (.807) conference record during his career. His teams averaged 10.6 wins per season, and he owned a 101-9 home record, with wins in each of his first 37 games at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Stoops' 2008 team went down as the highest scoring team in college football history, scoring a total of 716 points and averaging 51 points per game. A combined 25-11 against the Sooners' biggest rivals Oklahoma State and Texas, he also posted a 66.7 winning percentage vs. AP Top 25 teams, the best in the country during his reign at OU.
 
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