TAXACT TEXAS BOWL GRIDIRON LEGENDS CLASS OF 2022 ANNOUNCED
HOUSTON – The TaxAct Texas Bowl Committee has selected the 2022 Class of Gridiron Legends, the committee announced today. The honorees will be inducted at a special pregame ceremony during the 2022 TaxAct Texas Bowl game at NRG Stadium on Dec. 28.
The 2022 class features Greater Houston High School Coaches Association Nominee Todd Dodge, consensus first-team All-American (1991) and Super Bowl XXXI champion Santana Dotson, Rio Hondo, native and former Chicago Bear and Atlanta Falcon Roberto Garza, two-time Pro Bowler and New York Giants running back Rodney Hampton, former No. 1 overall pick and three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Pro Football Hall of Fame member Warren Moon, former University of Houston and College Football Hall of Fame member Elmo Wright.
Todd Dodge
Todd Dodge recently retired as the head football coach at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas and is a former quarterback for the University of Texas at Austin Longhorns. Following his college graduation, Dodge began his coaching career at the high school level. He landed his first head coach title at C.H. Yoe High School and would go on to coach successful high school football teams for 10 years. In 2006, Dodge shifted to college football and was hired as head coach for the North Texas Mean Green until returning to the high school level and coaching for Austin Westlake High School in 2014. In his last three seasons as head coach before retiring in 2021, the team went 45-1 and won three consecutive 6A state championships. This achievement made Dodge the first Texas high school football coach to win three-straight championships with two different schools, after doing so for Southlake Carroll (2004-2007) and Austin Westlake (2019-2021).
Santana Dotson
Santana Dotson was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round (132nd overall) of the 1992 NFL Draft, finishing second in the NFL Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. Dotson played in 152 games (129 starts) over a 10-year NFL career with the Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers. He registered 49.0 career sacks which included 13 tackles for loss, six fumble recoveries and 460 total tackles. In his first season with the Green Bay Packers in 1996, Dotson helped the team to a Super Bowl XXXI victory, a 35-21 triumph over the New England Patriots. Dotson was a three-year starter at Baylor, finishing his career with 193 tackles, 18.0 sacks and four forced fumbles. He was a three-time all-conference pick and a consensus first-team All-American as a senior in 1991, when he had 60 tackles, 4.0 sacks and two blocked kicks. Dotson attended Yates High School in Houston where he was part of the 1985 5A state championship team.
Roberto Garza
Garza, born in Rio Hondo, Texas, was a fourth-round pick (99th overall) by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2001 NFL Draft. After four years in Atlanta, Garza joined the Chicago Bears, playing with the team from 2005-2014. While with the Bears, Garza helped block for 1,000-yard rushers in six campaigns and started at both center and guard. He played in 206 games during his NFL career, appearing in all 16 games 10 times (2001, 2004-09, 2011-13). Garza played in eight postseason contests, starting every game. Garza attended Texas A&M University-Kingsville, playing three seasons with the team. He earned three straight all-conference nods while starting 30 of the team’s 40 games during that time. In addition to his football success, Garza found success in track & field, finishing third in the shot put at the 1999 NCAA Championships and winning the NCAA title in 2000. Since his retirement he has also served as a sideline reporter for the Fox Deportes’ broadcast of Super Bowl XLVIII.
Ed “Too Tall” Jones
Ed “Too Tall” Jones played his entire career with the Dallas Cowboys, appearing in 224 games and starting 203 of those contests. He was three-time Pro Bowl selection, earned a spot on the 1982 Associated Press All-Pro team and helped Dallas to a 1977 Super Bowl XII victory over the Denver Broncos. “Too Tall” registered 106.0 career sacks, which ranks top 50 in the NFL’s all-time sack leader ranks. His most productive season rushing the passer came in 1985, when he started all 16 games and recorded a career-best 13.0 sacks, which ranked as the eight-most that season. Jones retired at the end of the 1989 season, playing the most games by any Cowboys players (232) in franchise history. After signing with Tennessee State to play basketball, Jones shifted focus after two years at the school to concentrate on football. Jones became a two-time All-American and won the Black College Football National Championship in 1971 and 1973. He ranks third in school sacks in a season (12.0) and fifth in career sacks (38.0). From there, he was the first overall pick in the 1974 NFL Draft, becoming the first football player from a historically black college to go that high in the NFL draft.
Rodney Hampton
Rodney Hampton, a Houston native, played in 104 games (85 starts) during his NFL career all with the New York Giants. During his career, Hampton garnered two Pro Bowl appearances and rushed for 6,897 yards and scored 49 rushing touchdowns. His 6,897 rushing yards were the most in franchise history until he was surpassed by Tiki Barber in 2004. During his best season in 1992, Hampton rushed for 1,141 yards, 14 scores while averaging 71.3 yards on the ground per game. During Hampton’s rookie season, he helped the Giants claim Super Bowl XXV, a 20-19 victory over the Buffalo Bills. The Kashmere High School alum attended the University of Georgia, where he was a first round pick (24th overall) in the 1990 NFL Draft. While in Athens, Georgia, Hampton posted 2,668 rushing yards, 22 touchdowns and averaged 5.7 yards per rush.
Warren Moon
Warren Moon was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006 for his career performance over 17 seasons in the NFL. After six years in the CFL, Moon joined the Houston Oilers in 1984 and set a new club record with 3,338 passing yards in his first season. He found the most success in the 1990 NFL season when he led the league in passing yards (4,689), attempts (584), completions (362) and touchdowns (33). Moon was named Offensive Player of the Year and joined Dan Marino and Dan Fouts as the only quarterbacks to post back-to-back 4,000-passing yards seasons. He would later spend time with the Minnesota Vikings and the Seattle Seahawks, before ending his NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs. Over the span of his NFL career, Moon recorded four 4,000-yard passing seasons, 49,325 passing yards, nine Pro Bowls and 291 touchdowns. Moon was born in Los Angeles, California and attended West Los Angeles College for two years before joining the football team at University of Washington. His induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame marked the first time a black quarterback and the first time an undrafted quarter earned this honor. He’s also the only player in both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
Elmo Wright
Elmo Wright was a star wide receiver at the University of Houston and earned himself a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2020. Wright is most notably remembered for being the first football player to ever perform an end zone dance, as he would high-step into the endzone after a long touchdown reception for Houston. To this day, he still owns school records in all-purpose career average yards per play (21.0), yards per reception in a season (27.9 in 1968), career yards per reception (21.9), 200-yard receiving games in a season (2 in 1968 and 1969) and 200-yard career receiving games (4). Following his collegiate career, Wright was chosen by the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the 1971 NFL Draft where he would play for four seasons. He returned to Houston in 1975 when he briefly spent time with the Houston Oilers and the New England Patriots. Wright was born in Brazoria, Texas and won two-consecutive high school state championships (1965 and 1966). He still resides in Houston, Texas and volunteers with the local YMCA Chapter. He’s also a member of the University of Houston Athletics Hall of Honor and the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame.
For tickets and more information regarding the 2022 TaxAct Texas Bowl, visit https://www.taxacttexasbowl.com/
PR CONTACTS:
Tim Wiemann (tim.wiemann@houstontexans.com)
Rachel Richards (rachel.richards@houstontexans.com)
Jack Holmes (jack.holmes@houstontexans.com)
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