MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Steve Slaton rewrote the record books in his three seasons with the Mountaineers and his name will now be alongside the greats of the game. Slaton is a member of the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame induction class. The class of 18 players and four coaches was announced on Wednesday.
Slaton joined the Mountaineers in 2005 and he immediately burst on the scene setting a then-Big East record with 1,128 rushing yards, including a memorable six-touchdown performance in a triple-overtime victory against Louisville. His MVP performance in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia included a bowl-record 204 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He was named Big East Rookie of the Year while being named a First Team Freshman All-American. He rushed for 1,051 yards in 2007, adding a third consecutive season of more than 1,000 yards.
The Leavittown, Pa. native was a unanimous First Team All-American in 2006, Slaton finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting and as a finalist for the Doak Walker Award that year, setting the WVU single-season rushing record with 1,744 yards while accumulating 2,104 all-purpose yards.
During his three seasons in Morgantown, WVU went 33-5, winning three consecutive bowls (2006 Sugar, 2007 Gator and the 2008 Fiesta upset of Oklahoma) and boasting final national rankings of No. 5 in 2005, No. 10 in 2006 and No. 6 in 2007. The run included two Big East titles (2005, 2007), the winningest three-year period in WVU history and the second-best record in the nation over the three years.
Selected in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft by Houston, Slaton played four years with the Texans before concluding his career with the Dolphins in 2011. He played with the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL for one season before retiring from football and pursuing a career in the culinary arts as a personal chef and kitchen consultant in Houston. He was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.
Slaton is the seventh WVU player to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He joins Bruce Bosley, Major Harris, Sam Huff, Ira Errett Rodgers, Joe Stydahar and Darryl Talley. Head coaches Bobby Bowden, Frank Cignetti, “Greasy” Neale, Don Nehlen and “Doc” Spears also represent WVU in the Hall of Fame.
Former WVU assistant coach Nick Saban and Graham Harrell are also members of the 2025 induction class.