Peyton Manning heads list of new College Football Hall of Fame candidates

Former Tennessee great Peyton Manning is one of 15 first-time nominees on this year's College Football Hall of Fame ballot.

Manning, who retired a Super Bowl champion with the Denver Broncos this year, is among 75 former FBS player candidates appearing on the ballot released Wednesday morning.

Former South Carolina, Florida and Duke coach Steve Spurrier is the only new nominee among six former FBS coaches on the ballot.

Other newcomers to the player ballot include former Pittsburgh quarterback Matt Cavanaugh and running back Craig Heyward, Florida offensive lineman Brad Culpeper, Oklahoma linebacker Rickey Dixon, San Diego State running back Marshall Faulk, Cal tight end Tony Gonzalez, Arkansas defensive lineman Dan Hampton, Washington State kicker and punter Jason Hanson, North Carolina offensive lineman Ken Huff, Alabama linebacker E.J. Junior, Oklahoma State defensive end Leslie O'Neal, Arizona State quarterback Jake Plummer, USC safety Troy Polamalu, Wisconsin safety Troy Vincent and Tulane wide receiver Marc Zeno.

New divisional candidates include Mississippi Valley State's Vincent Brown and Parnell Dickinson, Illinois State's Boomer Grigsby, Northwest Missouri State's Tony Miles, Harvard's Carl Morris, Georgia Southern's Adrian Peterson and UCF's David Rhodes.

Coach candidates from the divisional level include Mount Union's Larry Kehres, West Chester and Bloomsburg, Pa.'s Danny Hale, Joe Taylor, who coached Howard, Virginia Union, Hampton and Florida A&M, and Mel Tjeerdsma of Austin College and Northwest Missouri State.

Hall eligibility is restricted to first-team All-Americans from teams used by the NCAA in determining consensus all-America teams. Players candidates who went on to pro careers must be retired.

Coaches need at least 10 years of tenure and 100 games, winning at least 60%. The waiting period for retired coaches is at least three seasons, though there is no waiting period for retired coaches who are more than 70 years old. Coaches who are 75 or more years old can be elected while still active, a la Kansas State's Bill Snyder in 2015.

The 2017 class will be announced Jan. 6, 2017 in Tampa, Fla., and inducted Dec. 5, 2017 at the 60th annual National Football Foundation Awards Dinner in New York.

ALL HEISMAN WINNERS SINCE 1982