Imago
Mandatory Credits: via NCAA Athletics Wiki – Fandom
Imago
Mandatory Credits: via NCAA Athletics Wiki – Fandom
Yet another player proved that the Georgia Bulldogs produce some of the best football players in the country. With Kirby Smart and his program busy with the transfer portal, former Georgia running back Garrison Hearst has received some positive news. The Bulldogs legend earned his spot among the 18 inductees in the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame Class.
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“Love and Respect to the UGA family! Go Dawgs! I see you BOH!” wrote Hearst, resharing Georgia Football’s post where they congratulated the legend.
Hearst will be inducted during the NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 8 in Las Vegas. He will also be honored with an on-campus salute with his career permanently recognized at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
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Hearst bulldozed through Georgia from 1990 to 1992, racking up 1,547 rushing yards and a school-record 19 rushing touchdowns as a junior in 1992. He ranked fourth on the Bulldogs’ single-season rushing list. This is still a great achievement once we see that the top three spots are still owned by Heisman legend Herschel Walker.
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Love and Respect to the UGA family! Go Dawgs! I see you BOH! https://t.co/v6RmsA82LB
— Garrison Hearst (@garrisonhearst5) January 14, 2026
Hearst left an indelible mark on the Georgia record books, finishing his career with 3,232 rushing yards and 3,834 all-purpose yards, placing him fifth and sixth in school history, respectively. His 16 career 100-yard games are a testament to his consistency and dominance.
His consensus All-American honors place him in the same elite company with fellow Bulldog legends like Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, Todd Gurley, and of course Herschel Walker.
While Hearst’s own talent helped him rise to the top, Georgia has a rich history of developing running backs. This is something ingrained deep in the program which pushed Hearst even further.
“Georgia, in a lot of areas, is considered Running Back U,” Hearst told the Athens Banner-Herald in 2014. “When I came here a lot of great backs had been here. You had Herschel, you had Tim Worley, Lars Tate, Rodney Hampton. A lot of times in your mind you have to do your thing to get out there because you have to represent.”
Hearst’s standout 1992 year included a third-place Heisman finish and the Doak Walker Award. His standout 1992 season culminated in a 10-2 season for Georgia, which closed with a victory over Ohio State in the Citrus Bowl.
In the same year, ESPN crowned him the first-ever ESPY winner as the nation’s most outstanding player. He also earned SEC Player of the Week four times.
Hearst’s final game featured 163 yards and two touchdowns against Ohio State in the Florida Citrus Bowl, securing MVP honors. Just two weeks later, the State of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame named him College Player of the Year across all sports.
Hailing from Lincolnton, Hearst went No. 3 overall in the 1993 NFL Draft to the Arizona Cardinals. He spent 10 seasons in the league, including five with the San Francisco 49ers, earning two Pro Bowl nods along the way.
However, in a sad turn of events, his NFL career was plagued by injuries.
Garrison Hearst’s tumultuous NFL chapter
In February 1993, as he was preparing for the NFL Draft, Hearst tore his left ACL. ESPN reported that the injury was discovered during a routine physical at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, where he wasn’t even participating in workouts. Despite that Hearst was selected by the Phoenix Cardinals in the 1993 NFL draft at number 3 overall.
By 1995, he had over a thousand yards but also 12 fumbles, which were the most for a non-QB. He was cut in 1996. Hearst then had a short stint with the Bengals for one season before being picked up by the Forty Niners.
Fast forward to the 1998 NFL Playoffs, and Hearst was carving up defenses in San Francisco, ranking as the NFC’s second-leading rusher. The former running back had racked up 1,570 yards, just behind Atlanta Falcons’ Jamal Anderson.
But disaster struck when he tried to spin away from a Falcons tackle by Chuck Smith at the Georgia Dome. Hearst awkwardly ended up twisting his leg and breaking his left fibula.
Hearst’s two-year battle with post-surgery complications ended in 2001 with a triumphant return. Hearst eventually went on to rush for nearly 8,000 yards in the NFL, earning Pro Bowl honors and two Comeback Player of the Year awards.
Written by
Edited by
Jacob Gijy