New York ? George “Sonny” Franck never thought he’d live to see this day.

The former All-America tailback at Minnesota from 1938-40 didn’t know whether he would ever make the College Football Hall of Fame – despite his accomplishments with the Golden Gophers.

“I thought maybe I’d die first,” Franck said.

He was wrong.

The 84-year-old Franck was one of 15 former greats inducted into the Hall of Fame on Tuesday night. The other players were Auburn split end Terry Beasley, Princeton running back Cosmo Iacavazzi, Arizona State receiver John Jefferson, Southern California safety Ronnie Lott, Pittsburgh quarterback Dan Marino, Navy tailback Napoleon McCallum, Michigan offensive guard Reggie McKenzie, Georgia Tech defensive back Randy Rhino, Texas offensive tackle Jerry Sisemore, Kansas State linebacker Gary Spani, Tennessee defensive tackle Reggie White and Missouri tight end Kellen Winslow.

The coaches inducted were Carmen Cozza, who spent 32 seasons at Yale, and Earle Bruce, who coached at Tampa, Iowa State, Ohio State, Northern Iowa and Colorado State.