(670 The Score) Legendary Bears returner Devin Hester was “very surprised” and “upset” he wasn’t elected as a first-ballot Hall of Famer back in February, but his understanding is he’ll be headed to Canton in 2023.
“I was very surprised, to be honest with you,” Hester said on the Mully & Haugh Show on Friday morning. “From everything leading up to the Hall of Fame (vote), I got an opportunity to talk to the president. And we had a conversation after I didn’t get voted (in), and my (question) was, ‘What was the reason why?’ And he said, ‘Out of every guy that got cut off the list, you were the hardest one.’ I was like, ‘Could you be more specific?’ And he was like, ‘To be honest with you, you were the last one to get cut. So if it was a cut-off at five players, you were the sixth guy. It was just like you came in with the uncomfortable position of we didn’t know what to do. And it was more so, we know you’re going to get in. That’s not a question. We know you’re going to get in. There’s some guys out there that have been waiting a while. So we are going to go ahead and let those guys get in. Because we know you’re going to get in.’ So that was really the answer.”
Hester admitted that hit him hard.
“I was more upset because being in the Hall of Fame is great, but being on the first ballot, it’s like being in the first round, a first-round draft pick,” Hester said. “If you don’t make the first round, as a player, you’re like, ‘I don’t care what round I go – second, third, it don’t matter now.’ But being a first-round draft pick is a big name. So for me going in and having the opportunity to be able to make the Hall of Fame and to be able to (potentially) be a first-ballot (Hall of Famer), it was a big thing for me.
“When you look at the Hall of Fame, you look at the best at the position. And it’s so frustrating because now you have, I’m in a situation where I’m in a list of guys that are ranked 30th in running back or the 29th-best quarterback. You know what I mean? When it comes to the Hall of Fame, you have to pick the best at that position. And if you have a guy that’s on the list right now that everybody is looking at as the greatest of all time, why not put him in there?”
Hester is the NFL's all-time leader in return touchdowns with 20, including 14 punt return touchdowns. He played eight of his 11 NFL seasons with the Bears, recording all but one of his return touchdowns for Chicago.
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