College Football Hall of Fame wrong to snub UNLV’s Cunningham

Hall of Fame voters can be a lot like coaches with struggling teams. They overthink the room. They make the simple coþmplicated and the obvious obscure. They take what should be a clear choice and cloud it with blemishes of doubt.

They are big on analysis and short on common sense.

Randall Cunningham doesn't just meet the qualifications for enshrinement into the College Football Hall of Fame. He mashes them like Jose Bautista would a straight fastball.

Cunningham's candidacy just demands those voting own enough foresight to identify the big picture. Sadly, they haven't yet.

The 2011 class was announced Tuesday, and for the sixth straight year, Cunningham moved past the district level only to fall short on the national ballot. It makes no sense. Reasons are forthcoming.

The 13-person Honors Court, which deliberates and selects the class, is made up of "an elite and geographically diverse pool of athletic directors, conference commissioners, Hall of Famers and members of the media."

All of whom, in this case, can't see the forest for the trees.

Or the Hall of Famer for the resume.

"I keep an eye on it every year," Cunningham said. "I look back on the work I was able to do in college ... If I deserve to get it, I'll get in. I would be honored."

I'm thinking this is a major problem: You have to be recognized as a first-team All-American to be eligible for induction, which means Cunningham is listed as a punter on the ballot. He was a KODAK All-American at the position for UNLV in 1983.

Oh, yeah. He also played a little quarterback for the Rebels.

Well enough to help change the position forever.

Cunningham remains the career passing and punting leader for the Rebels, the first quarterback selected in the 1985 NFL Draft who while in college threw for more than 8,000 yards and 59 touchdowns and averaged nearly 46 yards per punt. He led UNLV to its first bowl game and was MVP of the East-West Shrine Classic.

Of those in the college Hall of Fame, 128 played quarterback and one (Ray Guy) was a punter. This is where voters need to focus more on the big picture when considering Cunningham. The fact he was so terrific at two spots makes him a better candidate than most.

"When they asked me to come and coach in the Japan Bowl (in 1984), they said it was on one condition, that Randall come and play in it," said former Rebels coach Harvey Hyde. "You can only be a great coach with great players, and he was unbelievable. A tremendous talent. I'm sure (voters) know his name and who he is, but I'm not sure they really understand all he did in college. He was our offense. Opposing coaches and teams feared him."

If you don't believe a player's professional career should impact his college Hall candidacy, then forget for a moment Cunningham was part of a new wave of African-American quarterbacks in the NFL and remains that league's all-time leading rusher at the position, that he made four Pro Bowls and is a former Offensive Player of the Year who won three league MVP awards over 16 seasons, that his numbers match or exceed NFL Hall of Fame locks during the same time.

Consider this: Another part of a player's resume considered for the college Hall of Fame is his record following football, his ability to "prove himself worthy as a citizen, carrying the ideals of football forward into his relations with his community and fellow man ... Consideration may also be given for academic honors and whether or not the candidate earned a college degree."

Cunningham returned to UNLV to earn his in 2004 and now coaches young men as part of the football staff at Silverado High. He is also pastor to a congregation of more than 1,000 at Remnant Ministries in Henderson, where his post-football calling has allowed him to guide others in life.

Many of his flock have pledged to make the journey to South Bend, Ind., if Cunningham is selected to the college Hall, where his older brother (Sam "Bam" Cunningham) was enshrined last year.

"They keep telling me, 'We're praying it happens for you, Pastor!" Cunningham said. "More than anything, I'm proud to be making a positive impact on society. If the (Hall of Fame) is God's will, it will be done. I would hope they would look at the entire picture and say, 'That guy was a great player.' "

You hope one year soon they quit over-thinking the room when it comes to Randall Cunningham.

Memo to that 13-person Honors Court: Stop making the simple so darn complicated. This is one of the easy choices.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday and Thursday on "Monsters of the Midday," Fox Sports Radio 920 AM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.