Last week college football announced their latest class to be inducted in to the college hall of fame. One of those honorees will be the big offensive lineman from the University of Washington, York, Pennsylvania’s own Lincoln Kennedy. The entire class of 15 members will be inducted at the 58th NFF Annual Awards dinner, which will take place on Dec 8th at the Waldolf Astoria in New York City. They will also be honored at the All State Sugar Bowl in New Orleans in January 1st, 2016. The institutions will have their own on-campus recognition ceremonies during the fall of 2015.
I was lucky enough to speak to Lincoln Kennedy regarding his college and pro career. He also gave some insight regarding how he originally got in to the sport. Kennedy stated, “I kind of fell into football. I was raised in music, so I was raised with a trumpet in my hand. My high school coach said I should try out and then I realized through people seeing me just exceling on the field. Even then, I just wanted to use football as a way to get an education and get out of the hood, I wasn’t thinking about the NFL. It didn’t become reality until I noticed one day at a college practice when people were telling me NFL scouts were here to see me.”
While at the University of Washington, Lincoln Kennedy was a starter on the 1991 Washington Huskies team that split a National Championship. During that year in 1991, as well as 1992, he received the Morris Trophy, which is the award for most outstanding offensive lineman in the Pac-10 conference. He also earned unanimous All-American honors as an offensive tackle in 1992. He also received the Jim Parker Trophy, a trophy given to the top collegiate offensive lineman.
I asked Kennedy what this achievement meant to him, he responded, “It’s a dream come true. Mainly because I just never thought it was going to happen. You admire it from afar, but I don’t think I ever figured I’d be a part of it, especially when you talk about the numbers and percentages of it all. Since 1868 college football has been played. Figure how many men have played the game and how many names are out there to be considered one of the best to play it.”
After that, he went on to be the 9th overall pick in the 1993 NFL draft. Kennedy went on to play 11 seasons in the NFL including helping to anchor the offensive line for the Oakland Raiders at right tackle for 7 of those years, which included a trip to the Superbowl in 2002. He went to three consecutive Pro Bowls and was named All-Pro twice. By the time his career was done, he had played in 169 games, starting in 142 of them.
I then asked Kennedy, with all the injuries and early retirements that we see in the league today, how does someone who gets hit on every play continue to play on the highest level for 11 years. Kennedy said, “There’s really no one way of doing it. Just maintaining your health and more importantly, knowing your body. It’s about knowing how to play through injuries, having a high pain tolerance, and just for the love of the game. You play until you can’t play anymore. When asked if he ever thought about coaching, Kennedy stated, “I feel my purpose is better served to the people through broadcasting. I consider myself a patient man, but I don’t think I have the patience for coaching”, as he laughed.
Kennedy works as a broadcaster for Fox Sports and Premiere Radio Networks as a Sports Radio co-host. He also has experience calling Pac-10 games as a color analyst, as well as a being a track reporter for NASCAR. He is currently part of the Oakland Raiders radio broadcast team. He is now the 16th Washington Huskie to be elected to the College Hall of Fame and the 1st one since defensive lineman Steve Emtman was inducted in 2007. With Kennedy now going in to the College Hall of Fame, one thing is for sure, one side of the line is locked down.
