FAYETTEVILLE — Two former Arkansas football players were named semifinalists Thursday for the 2017 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
Steve Atwater and Jimmy Johnson are among 26 semifinalists that are being considered for induction. Atwater was an 8-time Pro Bowl safety with the Denver Broncos from 1989-98. Johnson helped build the Dallas Cowboys dynasty in the 1990s and won two Super Bowl championships as the team's head coach.
A third former Arkansas player, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, is also being considered for next year's class as a contributor to the game, along with former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
Johnson and Jones were teammates at Arkansas from 1962-64 and were captains of the Razorbacks' 1964 national championship team. Johnson was an all-Southwest Conference player that year as an offensive lineman.
Atwater was a two-time all-SWC player for the Razorbacks from 1985-88 and is the program's career leader with 14 interceptions.
Semifinalists eligible for the first time this season are running back LaDanian Tomlinson, wide receiver Hines Ward, defensive end Jason Taylor and safety Brian Dawkins. Joining them as first-time semifinalists is tackle-guard Chris Hinton, who retired in 1989 but has made this cut for the first time.
Also semifinalists are quarterback Kurt Warner; running backs Roger Craig, Terrell Davis and Edgerrin James; wide receivers Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt and Terrell Owens; offensive tackles Tony Boselli, Joe Jacoby and Mike Kenn; guard Alan Faneca; center Kevin Mawae; cornerback Ty Law; safeties John Lynch and Darren Woodson; and linebackers Karl Mecklenburg and Clay Matthews Jr. Former San Diego Chargers coach Don Coryell is also a semifinalist.
The Hall of Fame will name 15 finalists in January and the next induction class will be announced the week of the Super Bowl next February. Between four and eight candidates will be inducted during a ceremony next August in Canton, Ohio.
Finalists must receive at least 80 percent of the votes from the Hall of Fame's 48-member selection committee to be inducted. Atwater was a finalist last year.
Arkansas has had two former players - Lance Alworth and Dan Hampton - inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report