Former New Mexico State running back Pervis Atkins is arguably the school's greatest football player.
On Thursday morning, Atkins earned another honor for his success at NMSU. He was inducted into College Football Hall of Fame with 15 other players and two coaches.
"I feel like a new day has been offered and I accept this honor with pleasure,"
said Atkins, who played for the Aggies from 1958-60. "This honor represents a lot of people. We had a lot of good people on the team and a lot of guys helped me out. Las Cruces was a great city and the people were always fair to me and the school gave me a chance to mature and become a better player."
Atkins played for the Aggies from 1958-60 as a running back and helped lead the Aggies to an 11-0 record in 1960.
He had 1,800 all-purpose yards in 1960 for NMSU and was a two-time all-conference selection in the Border Conference. Atkins was an Associated Press first team All-American in 1960. He was a member of the 1959 and 1960 bowl teams. New Mexico State has not played in a bowl since that year.
Atkins also was selected in the third round of the NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams and played seven seasons, including stints with the Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins.
Heisman Trophy winners Tim Brown and Gino Torretta, along with two-time All-American Chris Spielman, were among the other players to be elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.
Others selected for induction by the National Football Foundation are: Penn State's Curt Warner; Arizona's Chuck Cecil; Auburn's Ed Dyas; West Virginia's Major Harris; BYU's Gordon Hudson; Alabama's Woodrow Lowe; Stanford's Ken Margerum; Texas' Steve McMichael; Iowa's Larry Station; Georgia Tech's Pat Swilling; and Nebraska's Grant Wistrom.
"It was great playing for New Mexico State and we had a good time while I was there,"
Atkins said. "It was a great time for the school, a great time for the state and we had a talented team. We beat good teams, and we had the confidence that we could beat anyone we played."
Atkins led college football in 1959 in rushing (7.5 yards per carry), scoring (107) points and punt return average (17.7). His 8.1 yards per car for a career is still a school record.
"I'm very excited for Pervis and his family,"
New Mexico State Athletics Director, Dr. McKinley Boston said. "What a wonderful accomplishment to be inducted into the National College Hall of Fame and now we get to celebrate one of NMSU's greatest athletes on a national stage."
Charley Johnson played quarterback for the Aggies and was part of NMSU's powerful offense with Atkins.
"Pervis had another gear in him and when he got going, he was tough to stop or catch,"
Johnson said.
Felix Chavez can be reached at fchavez@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5444.
