ATHENS —— Former Georgia receiver/quarterback Hines Ward was among those selected for the 2018 Southeastern Conference Football Legends class, announced Tuesday by the SEC office.
The class will be honored at the 2018 SEC Football “Weekend of Champions” Nov. 30-Dec. 1 in Atlanta, Ga, highlighted by the annual SEC Legends Dinner presented by AT&T on Fri., Nov. 30 at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta. The group will also be recognized prior to the SEC Football Championship Game, which will be held at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sat., Dec. 1.
Ward will also be recognized as UGA’s legend — as well as his coming induction into the Circle of Honor — his Saturday during the Bulldogs’ football game vs. Vanderbilt.
A native of Rex, Ga., and a product of Forest Park High School, Ward earned All-SEC first-team honors after his senior season of 1997, when the Bulldogs went 10-2 and defeated Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl. He saw action primarily as a receiver and caught 55 passes for 715 yards and six touchdowns. He also set the school record for receptions in a bowl game when he pulled in 12 passes for 122 yards against the Badgers.
Ward was selected in the third round of the 1997 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He went on to be selected to four Pro Bowls, was a member of two Super Bowl champion teams, and earned MVP honors in Super Bowl 40 in 2006. Ward remains the Steelers' all-time leading receiver with 1,000 catches for 12,083 yards and 85 touchdowns. He gained further notoriety in 2011 by winning the “Dancing With The Stars” national television competition.
Other members of the 2018 class include: Shaun Alexander (Alabama); Darren McFadden (Arkansas); Ronnie Brown (Auburn); Lawrence Wright (Florida); Rich Brooks (Kentucky); Ronnie Estay (LSU); Jim Miller (Ole Miss); Mardye McDole (Miss. State); Devin West (Missouri); Eric Norwood (South Carolina); Philip Fulmer (Tennessee); Pat Thomas (Texas A&M); and Zac Stacy (Vanderbilt).
The SEC Legends program was started in the 1994 season and the following former Bulldogs have been chosen to participate: Charley Trippi (1994), Fran Tarkenton (1995), Bill Stanfill (1996), Terry Hoage (1997), John Rauch (1998), Herschel Walker (1999), Kevin Butler (2000), Tommy Lyons (2001), George Patton (2002), Scott Woerner (2003), Mike Wilson (2004), Zeke Bratkowski (2005), Garrison Hearst (2006), Rex Robinson (2007), Eric Zeier (2008), Matt Stinchcomb (2009), Ben Zambiasi (2010), Boss Bailey (2011), David Greene (2012), Tim Worley (2013), John Little (2014), Richard Seymour (2015), Jon Stinchcomb (2016) and Champ Bailey (2017).
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