Inside The Bills

Hull, Reed, Tasker on HOF nominee list

Five Bills from the AFC title teams in the early 90′s are on the 2013 Pro Football HOF nominee list.

Cornelius Bennett, the late Kent Hull, Andre Reed, Steve Tasker and Darryl Talley are among the 127 nominees for the 2013 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. Former GM Bill Polian is also on the list.

A group of 25 semifinalists will be chosen from the nominee list in late November by the HOF Selection Committee. That semifinalist list will be further reduced by a mail ballot to 15 modern-era finalists and announced in early January. 

Tasker has been a semifinalist before. Reed meanwhile has been a finalist six times, but has not gained induction.

Other former Bills that are nominees include Sam Adams, Drew Bledsoe and Ted Washington.

Special honor for Bills Wall of Famer

The late Kent Hull, a Bills Wall of Fame inductee in 2002, will be the posthumous recipient of another distinguished honor next month.

Hull’s alma mater Mississippi State has announced that Hull will be the newest addition to the school’s Ring of Honor at Scott Field. The ceremony will be held on Sept. 8th. Hull, who was a three-time Pro Bowl center for the Bills, was also a three-year starter for the Bulldogs.

In his college career, he was most famously known for being part of the 1980 team that upset No. 1 Alabama. Hull tragically passed last October.

Mohr & Hull shared southern living

Former Bills punter Chris Mohr was glad to find someone on the Bills roster who had something in common with him upon joining the Bills roster in 1991. That player was Bills Wall of Famer Kent Hull. Here is Mohr’s recollection of his first few days with the Bills and how Hull made it easier as he travels to Greenwood, Mississippi for Hull’s funeral this weekend.

I’ve taken This trip to Greenwood, MS many times for hunting or visiting Kent and family, but never thought it would be for this so early. My first practice in Fredonia going out to hold for field goals was a nervous time for me, until I heard that accent, that southern accent something I’m used to. Kent came up and introduced himself, asked where I was from, and I did likewise to him. Since that day we and our families have had a special bond. My wife Kim and Kay had a similar bond, since they were from the south and raised the same way.

Kent was the ” John Wayne” of our team. Low spoken, but when he did speak everyone listened. He was the guy that could keep all the “egos” on our team in check. When someone had a problem or complaint they went to Kent. Heck, I think even the coaches did sometimes.

A great family man with a super family. He will most assurably be missed by all that had the pleasure to cross his path.
TOUGH, rest in peace.
Chris mohr and family

Mohr grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. And for those that don’t know, “Tough” or “Big Tough” was the nickname given to Kent Hull by his teammates.

Smerlas vs. Hull the 1st practice

Bills Wall of Famer Fred Smerlas passed along a great story about how fellow Wall of Famer Kent Hull quickly earned his respect as a player upon arriving from the USFL. Enjoy.

I had the pleasure of meeting Kent when he first arrived in Fredonia from the USFL.  But my meeting was different than most.  I got to face him lined up in the trenches nose to nose….a place where the true character of a man is revealed,  or the true weakness of a man is exposed.  On that warm July day I was going to  show this new arrival to the Bills the difference between the USFL and the NFL.  My plan was to demoralize, demolish and completely destroy him. I wanted to send  Kent  home to tell all his USFL friends how tough the NFL was.
 
By the end of the day, as I was walking off the field, bloodied and bruised, I realized that the Buffalo Bills had acquired something special.
 
Kent Hull went on to become the greatest center the Bills have ever had. Not only did he win my respect and friendship, but also that of the entire team.  Over the years I learned not only to admire him for his physical dominance but also for his character as a man on and off the field. 
 
But  Kent also had a soft side;
he called my wife Kris  ‘the Pea’ in reference to a costume she wore to our first Halloween party together.
 
Number 67 will be greatly missed  not only by his family and friends but by the communities in which he lived.  Kris and I would like to extend our condolences and prayers to Kay, Drew and Ellen at this very sad time.
 
Fred Smerlas

Bill Polian on Kent Hull passing

Former Bills GM and current Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian issued the following statement on the passing of Kent Hull.

“It is a very sad day for those of us with the Colts who were privileged to have Kent Hull as a team mate and friend. His physical toughness, work ethic, intelligence, character and sense of humor made him an undisputed leader on a team filled with Hall of Famers and stars.  He was a rock upon which those great Buffalo Bills offensive lines were built.  Inside the Bills organization and locker room his leadership was acknowledged, respected and followed by one and all.  Kent Hull with relatively few words, but indomitable spirit and consistently excellent deeds, epitomized what made his Bills teams great.  He was a fine man, a good friend and a true professional.

Jim Irsay and the Irsay Family join all Kent’s’ friends with the Colts in sending out thoughts prayers and deepest sympathy to Kay Hull and every member of the Hull Family.”

DeHaven’s USFL Hull story

Bills special teams coordinator Bruce DeHaven has one of the longest histories with Kent Hull, which stretches back to his USFL career with the New Jersey Generals.

“I knew Kent longer than any of these guys did,” said DeHaven. ”He was a rookie in the USFL with the New Jersey Generals when I was coaching there.  He and I both walked out to the practice field together for our first professional practice. Back when I first saw him, he weighed about 245 lbs and was trying to play on the offensive line. I told him that they’d brought me down to camp for two weeks and he said coach, ‘I don’t think I’m going to make two weeks.’ He just was a tough guy, smart and competitive and I had no idea he was going to be as good as he was. Even then you can see that he had a lot of those qualities.”

Wood laments never knowing Hull

Bills center Eric Wood when asked if he knew Kent Hull lamented the fact that he never met the Bills Wall of Famer, who passed at age 50 on Tuesday.

“Sad for his family and friends,” said Wood. “Personally I didn’t get a chance to meet Kent and I’m upset I didn’t. Wil Wolford is a good friend of mine and I know Jim Kelly well now and they both consider him their best friend. I’ve heard so much about him, his wife Kay and what good people they are. He set the standard around here for interior O-linemen. And I guess this always happens, but I never really appreciated him and did the research on how good a player he was until now.”

Kent Hull Video

Many of Kent Hull’s former teammates in their remembrances of him have attested to his character as a person as much as his abilities as a player. Here is a testament to that when he visited sick children in a hospital in his native Mississippi. If you want to know more about Kent Hull the man, this provides a good glimpse of the gregarious and respectful Southerner. 

Remembering Kent Hull

Tuesday was a difficult day for the Bills family with the passing of Wall of Famer Kent Hull. Wednesday morning some of his former teammates will be remembering him in their own words on the radio.

Mark Kelso will appear on Morning Bull at 7:45 am and will be followed by Wall of Famer Steve Tasker at 8:10. (listen online)

Steve Tasker will be on at 8:10 am.

HOF support for Bills

The early support for former Bills on the list of preliminary nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame has been pretty good. Here’s your way to provide more backing for potential Hall of Famers like Andre Reed, Cornelius Bennett, Kent Hull, Darryl Talley and Steve Tasker.

Just go to the Fan’s Choice site where you can vote for who you believe belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2011. You can vote for up to five nominees, so all of the guys above can get your vote. And there’s something in it for you as there are prizes and a chance to win a sweepstakes contest as well just by voting.

So far Bills fans have done well to support the former Bills. Here’s the breakdown of the current leaderboard for fan voting for all Pro Football HOF nominees.

1. Darryl Talley
2. Steve Tasker
3. Andre Reed
4. Cornelius Bennett
5. Kent Hull

So keep up the good work and keep supporting your former Bills and you’ll have a chance to win some pretty cool prizes.

Several Bills on prelim HOF list

A number of former Bills players are on the preliminary Pro Football Hall of Fame nominee list for the class of 2011.

Here is the rundown of former players among the 113 that were nominated.

Cornelius Bennett
Kent Hull
Andre Reed
Darryl Talley
Steve Tasker

Former head coach Chuck Knox is also on the list.

The Hall of Fame selectors will choose 25 candidates who will advance as semifinalist nominees. The list of 25 modern-era semifinalists will be announced in mid-November. Reed was the only nominee from this list to make the finalist list in 2010.

HOF semifinalists to be named Saturday

The Pro Football Hall of Fame will be naming their 25 semifinalists for enshrinement as part of the 2010 Hall of Fame class, and you’ll be able to see the names revealed live.

For the first time ever, the announcement of the 25 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010 will be televised on “Pro Football Hall of Fame: Road to Canton” show this Saturday at 1 PM ET on NFL Network with an encore at 9 PM ET.

Paul Burmeister hosts the 60-minute show and leads a panel discussion analyzing who made the final 25 and who didn’t.

Former Bills likely to be on the list include Steve Tasker, Andre Reed, Kent Hull and Darryl Talley.

Fan can now lobby for HOF candidates

For the first time, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is asking fans to voice their choice for who they think should be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010 with a dedicated fan forum.

At the Fans Choice Forum you can argue for the candidacy of Bills Wall of Famer Steve Tasker or three-time finalist Andre Reed. Kent Hull, Cornelius Bennett, Darryl Talley, Fred Smerlas, Chris Spielman and former head coach Chuck Knox current join Reed and Tasker on the Hall’s preliminary 2010 induction list.

The Hall wants to know what fans are thinking and it’s time for fans to speak up and be heard by casting their ballot! Almost 10,000 fans have already cast their ballot in the first 24 hours! 

Andre Reed is currently ranked #9 while Tasker is at #17, so get behind your guy and vote!

Top 10 fan’s choice as of this morning:
1. Jerry Rice
2. Emmitt Smith
3. Cris Carter
4. Shannon Sharpe
5. Charles Haley
6. Ray Guy
7. Richard Dent
8. Tim Brown
9. Andre Reed
10. Phil Simms