Miami Hurricanes Ninth All-Time in Pro Football Hall of Fame Players

Cortez Kennedy DT Inducted 2012

Cortez Kennedy played two seasons with the Miami Hurricanes. One phantom fumble on a fall afternoon in South Bend, Indiana kept the Hurricanes from potentially winning National Championships in both of his seasons in Coral Gables.

After falling short in 1988, Kennedy did lead UM to the National Championship in 1989. The Hurricanes finished that season 11-1. Only a loss to Florida State blemished an undefeated season.

Kennedy was the anchor of a dominant Miami Hurricanes defense on their ’89 National Championship team. The Hurricanes led the country in scoring allowing 10.6 points per game.

‘Tez played right defensive tackle in Sonny Lubick’s 4-3 under Dennis Erickson. The defense held opponents to an almost unheard of 210.7 total yards per game. This included just 63 yards per game on the ground.

Kennedy earned second-team All-American honors following the season. He was selected as the third overall pick by the Seattle Seahawks in the 1990 NFL Draft.

Kennedy joined a Seattle Defense that played a three-four. He would be converted to a nose tackle for the Seahawks.

Kennedy started all 16 games in his rookie season. He started just two but recorded 48 tackles. Kennedy became a starter in his second season and started every game he played in for the remainder of his career.