With a likely Pro Football Hall of Fame induction in the not so distant future for Darrelle Revis, the New York Jets decided to honor Revis early as they inducted him as the 21st member of their Ring of Honor yesterday.
After an All-American career at Pitt, Revis was drafted by the Jets with the No. 14 pick in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He spent eight of his 11 NFL seasons with the Jets. For his career he registered 29 career interceptions and was more known for shutting down the receiver he was covering, isolating them on “Revis Island.”
That is evident in his pass deflection numbers, which for a career sits at 139. He set an NFL record 31 pass deflections in 2009, a record that still stands to this day. He was a four-time All-Pro and won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots in 2014.
He was a member of the NFL’s 2010 All-Decade team and he’s well-regarded as one of the greatest cornerbacks in NFL history.
Revis spent three years at Pitt from 2004-06. During that time he racked up 80 tackles (66 solo), five tackles-for-loss, eight interceptions with two returned for touchdowns. He also averaged just over 10 yards per punt return with two returned for touchdowns.
One of those two was against West Virginia in the 2006 Backyard Brawl, a game that Pitt ended up losing. It was later named by ESPN as the top college football play of the year.
Revis received many accolades during his time with Pitt such as multiple All-American, All-Conference and All-Freshman nods as well as being a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the top defensive back in college football, in 2006.
Prior to attending Pitt, Revis played at western Pennsylvania football powerhouse Aliquippa. His induction in the Jets Ring of Honor is a precursor for Revis towards his eventual induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which a lot of experts predicting he’ll get in this year on his first ballot.
If he gets in, he’d be the 10th Pitt player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame following Joe Schmidt, Mike Ditka, Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Chris Doleman, Curtis Martin and Jim Covert. Revise’s induction would tie the school with Ohio State for the fourth most in college football. USC (14) and Notre Dame (14) with Michigan (12) slotting in at third.
Pitt is likely to get in more outside of Revis as well with Larry Fitzgerald and Aaron Donald expected to be first ballot hall of famers themselves. Former running back LeSean McCoy also has a case for the hall of fame, although his case isn’t as strong as Fitzgerald, Donald or Revis.
If the #4 NFL Hall of Fame stat isn’t a recruiting advantage for Pitt coaches to utilize in landing top recruits, I don’t know what is.