Ismail To Be Honored By CFB Hall
SOUTH BEND – The University of Notre Dame and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that they will jointly honor 2019 electee Raghib “Rocket” Ismail with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments. The Salute will take place this Saturday, Nov. 2, during the Fighting Irish football game against Virginia Tech.
“It’s an amazing honor, first of all,” Ismail said during the announcement of the 2019 Class live on “SportsCenter” in January. “The reflecting I’ve been doing since hearing the information – it takes a lot of people to help get you to a place where you can even be considered to be in the Hall of Fame or any honor like that. So, I’ve just been thinking about all the people along the way that helped me.”
A two-time First Team All-American, Ismail earned consensus honors in 1989 (kick returner) and unanimous laurels in 1990 (wide receiver/kick returner). The 1990 Walter Camp Player of the Year, he was also named The Sporting News’ College Player of the Year and finished as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.
The Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, native led the Irish to an undefeated national championship season in 1988 that was capped by a win in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl. Ismail also guided Notre Dame to two Orange Bowl berths, claiming MVP honors in the 1990 edition after he led both teams in rushing in a 21-6 win over Colorado.
The only college football player among the finalists for the 1990 Sullivan Award as the best amateur athlete in the nation, he guided the Irish to top six finishes all three seasons of his career and an overall record of 33-4.
Few in the game’s history can match Ismail’s versatility. One of only two Irish players to amass more than 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in a career, his 22 yards per reception average remain a school record. His five kickoff returns for a touchdown are a Notre Dame record, and he remains the only player in NCAA history to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in two games.
In 1988, Ismail led the NCAA after averaging 36.1 yards per kickoff return, and his six career returns for touchdown (five kickoffs, one punt) are tied for a Notre Dame record. He ranks sixth in Irish annals with 4,187 career all-purpose yards, 268 of which came in an upset of No. 2 Miami (FL) in 1990 after he rushed for 100 yards and returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown.
While with the Irish, Ismail played for College Football Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz and alongside Hall of Famer Chris Zorich.
Projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 1991 NFL Draft, Ismail instead signed with the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League. He played two seasons for Toronto, leading them to a Grey Cup Championship in 1991 and taking home the game’s MVP honors. The Los Angeles Raiders selected Ismail in the fourth round of the 1991 NFL Draft to own his rights, and he returned to play in the NFL for the Raiders (1993-95), Carolina Panthers (1996-98) and Dallas Cowboys (1999-2001).
A two-sport athlete, Ismail was also an All-America track star at Notre Dame. A member of Sports Illustrated’s All-20th Century College Football Team, he was inducted into the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame in 2003.
He was a contributor to ESPN’s “College GameDay” for two seasons. Ismail now lives in Dallas where he serves as a motivational speaker while visiting military bases throughout the state of Texas.
Ismail becomes the 47th Fighting Irish player to be inducted, adding to the single-school record already held by Notre Dame. Six former Notre Dame coaches are also in the Hall.
The 2019 Class will also be honored during the 15th Annual National Hall of Fame Salute at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 28, and they will be forever immortalized at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.