Virginia Tech football: Corey Moore named on 2023 College Football Hall of Fame ballot

The College Football Hall of Fame announced names for the 2023 ballot for enshrinement Monday, and one former Virginia Tech star made the list.

Former Hokie defensive end Corey Moore is on the 2023 ballot, and any Virginia Tech fan would tell you he should be in the Hall of Fame. Moore starred at VT from 1996-99, finishing his career as a two-time first-team All-American.

We’ll let the National Football Foundation list the reasons why Moore is on the ballot:

Two-time First Team All-American (1999-unanimous) and winner of the 1999 Lombardi and Nagurski awards…Two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year led Hokies to 2000 National Championship Game…Leader of Hokies famed “Lunch Pail Defense” that led the nation in rushing defense (85.0 ypg).

Ask any Hokie fan about that 1999 season, and almost everyone will mention Moore in the same breath as Michael Vick. Yes, Moore was not only that good, but that dominant of a force off the edge for a shutdown defense.

Moore wasn’t the biggest player, but he was an unstoppable force, recording 31 sacks in his final two college seasons. His No. 56 is retired by Virginia Tech, and he is in the school’s Hall of Fame.

Moore has been on the ballot since 2019, and here’s hoping this is the year he receives the call. If chosen, he would join his former coach, Frank Beamer, and the other top pass-rusher in school history, Bruce Smith, in the College Football Hall of Fame. Other Virginia Tech football icons in the College Football Hall of Fame are Frank Loria, Carroll Dale, Jerry Claiborne, Hunter Carpenter and Andy Gustafson.