The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame and the University of Oklahoma paid tribute to 2004 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Tony Casillas with an On-Campus Salute Saturday.

Oklahoma honored their former All-America middle guard when they hosted the University of Houston on Saturday, Sept. 11. During the half-time ceremony, Casillas was recognized and was presented with a Hall of Fame plaque that he handed over to the University for their permanent display.

The rest of the 2004 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be honored with On-Campus Salutes at their respective alma maters and coaching sites throughout the remainder 2004 college football season.







HONOREE BIOGRAPHY

Tony Casillas
University of Oklahoma
Middle Guard, 1982-85

As much as offenses tried, he could not be avoided. Looming in the middle of a talented Oklahoma defensive line, Tony Casillas punished opposition prompting head coach and Hall of Famer Barry Switzer to call him “perhaps the greatest Sooner defensive lineman ever.”

A two-time consensus First Team All-America selection, Casillas became only the second Sooner ever to win the Lombardi Award (1985), which is given to the nation’s top lineman. Named UPI National Lineman of the Year and BIG-8 Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Casillas helped lead Oklahoma to their first National Championship in 10 years in 1985. A two-time First Team All-Conference performer, he amassed 18 career sacks and 213 career tackles.

A stellar student in the classroom as well, Casillas graduated with a degree in public relations and earned Academic All-Conference honors in 1985.

Named College Defensive Player of the Decade for the 1980s, Casillas was selected second overall in the 1986 NFL Draft by the Altanta Falcons. Twice named an All-Pro, he played 13 seasons in the NFL with three different teams and won two Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys. Since retiring from the NFL, Casillas has embarked on a lucrative business career as president of T.C. Oil and Gas Company.

With 119 chapters and over 13,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, a not-for-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in America’s young people. NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., PLAY IT SMART, The NFF Center for Youth Development Through Sport at Springfield College (Mass.), the NFL-NFF Coaching Academy, and scholarships of nearly $1 million for College and High School Scholar-Athletes.