Four who played in the NFL and former longtime Wofford head football coach Mike Ayers were inducted into the South Carolina Football Hall Of Fame Friday night in Greenville.
Ayers guided the Terriers to five Southern Conference titles and 10 playoff trips (two in NCAA Division II, eight in FCS) and is third all-time in SoCon victories and seasons, behind only Jerry Moore (Appalachian State) and Wallace Wade (Alabama, Duke). Overall he posted a 207-139-1 record with the Terriers.
The former players enshrined are:
*John Gilliam, a Greenwood native who played at S.C. State and then was an NFL wide receiver and flanker for five teams between 1967 and 1977. He had 382 career receptions and 48 touchdown receptions. He was on Vikings teams that played in the Super bowl following the 1973 and 1974 seasons.
*Joe Bostic, a Clemson offensive lineman in the ’70s who then played a decade in the NFL with the Cardinals, including their first year in Phoenix following their move from St. Louis.
*Stanford Jennings, a former Furman running back and whose NFL career spanned nine seasons in stops with the Bengals, Saints, and Bucs. He was on the 1988 Cincinnati team that played in the Super Bowl.
*Brad Edwards, a star defensive back at South Carolina in the mid-’80s, who had interceptions for touchdowns in the Clemson/Carolina game in both 1986 and 1987. His NFL career spanned nine seasons with the Vikings, Redskins, and Falcons and he had four interceptions for a Washington team that won the Super Bowl following the 1991 season.
Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, a Columbia-area native, received the Blanchard-Rogers Trophy as the top college player with South Carolina ties.
