WATCH: Devin Hester's acceptance speech at the Hall of Fame

by Tony Crumpton - Senior Editor - Sat Aug 03 15:25:53 GMT-04:00 2024

The 'Windy City Flyer' is officially in the Pro Football Hall of Fame!

"I want to thank the Hall of Fame for making me the first returner to ever wear this gold jacket, and I want to congratulate everyone in the 2024 class for being here. I'm proud and honored to be up here with you guys," Devin Hester said during his HOF ceremony. "I fell in love with football back when I first started playing two-hand touch in the street. And as kids, we couldn't kick the ball that far, so we would throw it off high and make it look like a kickoff. And every time they would throw the ball off high, out of 10 times, I would take about seven of them back."

"I felt like football chose me, from Pop Warner, to high school, to college, to the NFL, the first play of every game I always did something special. My first carry in high school football, I took a 22-yard handoff for a touchdown. And when I got to college, on the first play of a game, I took a 97-yard kickoff return back for a touchdown against the Florida Gators. Every glimpse of me trying to go to the next level, it'd always happen on the first play. It was a sign to let me know that football was meant for me. I love this game more than I could say, and more so, it loved me back."

"When I started on the professional scene, there was a lot of negativity because people didn't respect the return game. But eventually, they put in this new rule, which is called, you guys know, the Devin Hester rule. The rule moved the kickoff up and made it easier for the kickers to kick it out of the end zone, which eliminated me from getting a lot of returns. So I guess you could say, the NFL started taking the return game seriously."

"I hope me being here today opens up the doors and brings some attention to other guys like Brian Mitchell and Josh Cribbs because I'm not the only returner who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, I'm just the first."

"I want to say a few words to the young players out there … who may be undecided about what position you want to play in football, or in life. Sometimes we get stuck in our own ways, wanting to be a quarterback, a running back or a wide receiver. But you have to leave your options open, because God's plan might be better for you. I wanted to be a running back, but God's plan wasn't that for me. Sure, I might have been the 178th best running back in the world, or the 297th-best wide receiver in the world, but instead, I embraced God's plan for me. And mostly, I accepted it, I accepted my calling. I accepted my calling that God had in store for me. And by me embracing it, it made me the best returner to ever walk the face of the earth. At least, as of right now."

"So again, thank you to everyone who helped me get this far, and congratulations to all the guys up here who made it to the 2024 Hall of Fame. I'll be looking to see what the Hall of Fame does next year, because we, this class of 2024, are tough to beat. Thank you."

Check out Devin Hester's speech at Canton, Ohio on Saturday afternoon: