Washington County's Spikes now eligible for the NFL Hall of Fame

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          There are more than 100 modern-era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

          One of the new additions to the list used leave a hurtin’ on folks in Sandersville before doing so at Auburn and then the NFL.

          Former Washington County standout Takeo Spikes has been added to the list of first-year nominees to hopefully wear the gold jacket in Canton, Ohio one day.

          From his Instagram account:

          “It is with great pride that I am able to share with you that I am among the nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I stand with some of the finest men to ever play the game. This has been a dream of mine since I was 12 years old, a dream that I have dedicated my life too. Every ounce of my focus has been to be right here, right now.”

          The hall’s release – which is annual -is confusing in that it doesn’t accurately acknowledge in its long list of nominees all of the players in their first year – five years after retiring – of eligibility. It only notes Tony Gonzalez, Champ Bailey, London Fletcher, and Ed Reed. There were 108 modern-era players on the list last year.

          Thus, most media outlets are reporting the release of the 102 names as something new, when only a few names are new.

          Milledgeville’s Earnest Byner remains on the list, as does Fort Valley State’s Greg Lloyd, Herschel Walker, Ray Donaldson, Jeff Saturday, Richard Seymour, Cornelius Bennett, among others with ties to the state of Georgia.

          Spikes was among the top players in the state in any classification when he did his share inflicting in the House of Pain at Washington County. He was the Class AA defensive player of the year in 1994 by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and all-classification player of the year by the Associated Press.

          The Golden Hawks went 15-0 that year, shutting out five opponents and keeping six more opponents to three or seven points.

          He went on to become one of the top defensive players in Auburn history, getting his first start midway through his freshman season. He led the Tigers in 1997 with 136 tackles, leading them to the SEC title game.

          Spikes spent 15 years in the NFL, with Cincinnati, Buffalo, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and San Diego. He was a first-team All-Pro in 2004 and made two Pro Bowls.

          He was a captain for 13 seasons, and is one of less than 10 linebackers to have at least 200 NFL starts.

          Spikes has not had the typical post-playing career. He’s an author, public speaker, has an MBA, and was in the Class of 2017 inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.