Matt Stinchcomb appreciative of Hall of Fame honor to recognize team success

Matt Stinchcomb was clear in what he wanted his College Football Hall of Fame honor to represent.

The All-American offensive tackle from 1995-98 will represent Georgia at the Dec. 4, 2018, Hall of Fame awards’ dinner in New York. Stinchcomb was appreciative of the honor, but he wants it to recognize the four Bulldog teams he played on rather than his individual accolades.

In fact, Stinchcomb sees most awards as team-oriented accomplishments, except for a few exclusions such as the Heisman Trophy honor for Louisville’s Lamar Jackson in 2016.

“Any time one player is singled out, it’s a de facto team recognition,” Stinchcomb said. “I view that as the most-important element, because it’s representative of the teams I got to play on. Especially on the offensive line, for them to sift all the way down to my name, there had to be more reasons than just me.”

Stinchcomb received word of the selection on Jan. 8 — hours prior to the College Football Playoff National Championship in which he was honored on the field before kickoff. In the group of athletes inducted, Stinchcomb joins 10 others: Rice running back Trevor Cobb, Penn State quarterback Kerry Collins, Montana quarterback Dave Dickenson, Illinois linebacker Dana Howard, Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson, Temple running back Paul Palmer, Miami defensive back Ed Reed, Nebraska offensive guard Aaron Taylor and Michigan defensive back Charles Woodson.

The latest addition marks the 14th former Georgia player to be inducted and the 18th inductee with Bulldog ties. Before Stinchcomb, Scott Woerner was the latest player to represent Georgia with the honor. Georgia may not have won a national title in the four seasons that Stinchcomb was a contributor, but he was able to give credit to a lengthy list of talented teammates when discussing the award. In his second season as a starter, the Bulldogs averaged 6.3 yards per play and were led by offensive playmakers Mike Bobo and Robert Edwards.

Stinchcomb also added Hines Ward, Champ Bailey, Kirby Smart and a few others who allowed for the success during his days as an offensive tackle with the Bulldogs. But as a first-team All-American in 1997 and a consensus All-American of the Year the following season, this isn’t the first accolade he’s received.

Stinchcomb was nominated for the award in June along with a pool of other players and coaches by the National Football Foundation and was unsure as to how things would transpire past that point.

“It’s pretty exclusive recognition, and I’d be lying if I said I thought it would get much further than a nomination,” Stinchcomb said. “I was more than flattered to have been nominated, but especially with the pretty darn good players in my era — and you wouldn’t have to leave the SEC to find them. It’s exciting and surprising.”

Since his playing days concluded in 2005, Stinchcomb has made his way to the broadcast booth as a game day analyst for the SEC Network along with some other studio functions for ESPN networks.

With the responsibility comes the challenge of balancing objectivity while still representing your school. That was put to test for Stinchcomb prior to the Jan. 1 Rose Bowl as he was sent out to Pasadena, California as a studio analyst leading up to the game.

“In those moments, you have a job to do,” Stinchcomb said. “You have to be objective when you’re in the booth either you’re better or you’re worse. But I will say this, I wore a red tie for a reason.”

This story was originally published January 25, 2018 at 7:15 PM with the headline "Matt Stinchcomb appreciative of Hall of Fame honor to recognize team success."