Helix Charter High School alumnus Alex Smith, the star quarterback at the University of Utah from 2002-04, has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame 2024 class.
The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame unveiled the entire class on Jan. 8. It includes 19 First Team All-America players and three standout coaches.
The electees have been selected from the 2024 national ballot of 78 players and nine coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 101 players and 32 coaches from the divisional ranks.
The 2024 College Football Hall of Fame class will officially be inducted during the 66th NFF annual awards dinner on Dec. 10 at the Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
Making the grade
An exceptionally gifted passer and runner, Smith went 21-1 as a starter, establishing himself as a transformational player during a new era of college football and the emergence of the spread offense. The Helix Charter High School alumnus becomes the first player from Utah to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.
Selected as a First Team All- American by the Football Writers Association of America in 2004, Smith finished fourth the Heisman Trophy voting while claiming Sports Illustrated National Player of the Year honors. A Mountain West Conference First Team selection in 2004 and Second Team in 2003, Smith led the Utes to MWC titles in 2003 and 2004. He was named the MWC Offensive Player of the Year in 2004.
Appearing in just two games as a freshman, Smith became the starter as a sophomore in 2003 after Urban Meyer took over as the Utes new head coach. In 11 games, Smith threw for 2,247 yards with 15 touchdowns, culminating with a win in the Liberty Bowl and a No. 21 final AP ranking.
The following season, Smith led Utah to its first-ever 12-0 season and a BCS bowl berth, the Fiesta Bowl against Pitt. Smith claimed MVP honors in the game, passing for 328 yards and four touchdowns in the 35- 7 win.
The Fiesta Bowl appearance marked the first time a team from a non-automatically qualifying BCS conference played in a BCS bowl, earning the Utes the distinction as the inaugural “BCS Buster.” The Utes would finish at No. 4 in the final AP Poll.
During the 2004 season, Smith ranked second nationally in efficiency rating (176.5), third in yards per attempt (9.3), fifth in completion percentage (67.5), and fifth in passing touchdowns (32). At the conference level, he set the record for career completion percentage (66.3 percent – now ranks fifth), and he led the MWC in passing (2,952 yards) and all-purpose yards per game (298.6) during 2004 season.
Smith holds Utes records for career pass efficiency (164.4), career yards per play (7.19), single-season touchdown passes (32 in 2004) and single-season total touchdowns (42 in 2004). He set Utah records for career completion percentage (63.3 percent —now second), single season pass efficiency (176.5 in 2004 — now second), and career quarterback wins (21 — now fourth). Smith finished his career with 389 completions for 5,203 yards and 47 touchdowns, adding 286 rushes for 1,072 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground. Smith also excelled in the classroom, earning CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year honors and as a First Team Academic All-America pick in 2004. He was also a two-time Academic All-Mountain West selection.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft by San Francisco, he played 16 years for the 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Commanders. He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection, and he was named the recipient of the 2020 NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award after recovering from a life-threatening injury to his leg.
Smith currently works as an ESPN analyst and public speaker. He was inducted into the Utah Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021 and the Academic All- America Hall of Fame in 2020. Smith earned recognition with Helix teammate Reggie Bush as one of the top high school backfields in the nation.
Quick facts
- When the 2024 Hall of Fame Class is officially inducted in December, only 1,093 players and 233 coaches will have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.71 million who have played or coached the game during the past 154 years. In other words, less than two one-hundredths of a percent of the individuals who have played the game have earned this distinction.
- Founded in 1947, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 1951. That first class included 32 players and 22 coaches, including Illinois’ Red Grange, Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne, Amos Alonzo Stagg and Carlisle’s Jim Thorpe.
- A total of 323 schools are represented with at least one College Football Hall of Famer.
