ATLANTA (Dec. 31, 2024) – The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will induct three members into this year's Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Hall of Fame including former Tennessee All-American defensive back Eric Berry, former Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher, and former Peach Bowl, Inc. chairman Neill Cameron Jr. Established in 2002, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Hall of Fame honors former players, coaches and contributors, as well as staff and volunteers, who have had a significant impact on the Bowl.
Eric Berry was a two-time, unanimous First Team All-American defensive back for the Tennessee Volunteers from 2007-09. Berry claimed the Jim Thorpe Award in 2009 as the nation's top defensive back after being a finalist in 2008 and twice claimed the Jack Tatum Award from the Touchdown Club of Columbus as the nation's top defensive back. A three-time All-SEC selection, including First Team honors in 2008 and 2009, Berry was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 after leading the conference with seven interceptions. Berry's tenure in Knoxville established him as the SEC's all-time leader in career interception return yards (494) and single-season interception return yards (265 in 2008). He also holds the Tennessee record for career yards (35.3) per interception. Berry helped lead the Volunteers to two bowl berths, including the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in 2009 vs. Virginia Tech, and was recently inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2023. Following his stellar collegiate career, Berry was drafted as the fifth overall pick by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2010. Berry ended his NFL career with 440 total tackles, 5.5 sacks, 14 interceptions, three forced fumbles, 50 pass deflections and five defensive touchdowns. Berry was a three-time First-team All-Pro (2013, 2015, 2016), made five Pro Bowls (2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016), and was named both the 2015 AP Comeback Player of the Year and to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.
Former college football head coach
Jimbo Fisher won an impressive 72.7 percent of the games he coached during his stellar 14-year career, posting a 128-48 overall record. Fisher began his head coaching career in Tallahassee and led Florida State to an 83-23 mark in his eight seasons at the helm. Under Fisher, the Seminoles won five bowl games and made seven bowl appearances, including the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in 2010 and 2015. During his first year at Florida State in 2010, Fisher led the Seminoles to a 10-4 record, which was capped off with a win against South Carolina in the program's first appearance in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl since the early 1980s. Fisher continued to build his coaching legacy when the Seminoles became BCS National Champions in 2013 after capping off a perfect 14-0 season, the third undefeated season in program history. During that 2013 season, Fisher earned the coveted Rawlings National College Football Coach of the Year award and was named the AFCA Regional Coach of the Year in Region One. During his time as a head coach at Florida State he coached one Heisman winner, 12 All-Americans, earned three ACC Conference titles and became the winningest coach in Seminole history with a 78.3-win percentage. After building success at Florida State, he then went on to take the head coaching job at Texas A&M in 2018 where he accumulated five winning seasons and three bowl victories.
Neill Cameron is a former member of the Peach Bowl Board of Directors and chairman of the Board who left a lasting legacy that is still felt to this day. Cameron was appointed to the Peach Bowl Board of Directors in 1986 and served on the team selection committee for 13 years. During his tenure with the Peach Bowl, he also was appointed as chairman of the Board in 1991 and served a two-year term. In his time as chairman, he brokered the agreement between ESPN and the Bowl, which permanently moved the Peach Bowl's programming to a national audience on ESPN while increasing the overall payout from $1.8 million to $2.26 million. Cameron was also an integral part of moving the Peach Bowl away from Fulton County Stadium and into the Georgia Dome. As a result, the Peach Bowl found a new home for nearly 25 years after it became the first major college football game played in the venue. He also negotiated the agreement between the ACC and SEC conferences to partner as bowl affiliates for the game beginning in 1992, becoming one of the first bowls with conference tie-ins.
Including this year's inductees, there are now 67 members in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Hall of Fame, including players such as
Mike Singletary,
Reggie White and
Jim Kelly, as well as coaches including
Bobby Dodd,
Vince Dooley and
Lou Holtz.