‘Pretty unimaginable’ second for Darrelle Revis, Joe Klecko and the Jets – New York Jets Blog
Only two New York Jets draft picks made it to Canton within the first 60 years of the Pro Football Hall of Fame — quarterback Joe Namath and operating again John Riggins, who reached his best heights with Washington.
The Jets equaled that quantity within the 61st 12 months, as cornerback Darrelle Revis and defensive lineman Joe Klecko have been launched Thursday night time as members of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023.
It was a homegrown dwelling run.
“I think it’s pretty incredible to represent the organization in a way that two of their best defensive players are being enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Revis instructed ESPN. “It’s a big night, obviously.”
Revis was thrilled to see the Jets “take over the whole NFL Honors show.” He was referring to huge receiver Garrett Wilson and cornerback Sauce Gardner, who gained the NFL Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards — solely the third time within the 56-year historical past of the awards that teammates gained in the identical 12 months.
“You have the past, present and future,” Revis stated. “You have the past in Joe, who’s now being honored. You have the present — myself. And you have the future with Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson.”
Revis, 37, stated “chills came over my body” when he discovered of his Hall of Fame choice. A primary-round pick of Pitt in 2007, he was chosen in his first 12 months of eligibility as a modern-era candidate. He joins a choose group. In latest years, the one defensive backs to make it on the primary poll have been Charles Woodson (2021), John Lynch (2021), Troy Polamalu (2020), Champ Bailey (2019) and Ed Reed (2019). Bef0re them, it’s important to return to Deion Sanders (2011) to discover a DB who broke by in his first strive.
“It’s just a testament to my body of work during my career … all the work … all the overtime hours I put into my craft as I continued to work on my game as a cornerback,” stated Revis, cherishing his first-ballot entry. “For me, with the imperfections of playing the position, I tried to be as consistent as I could to play a stellar way of playing the game of football.”
Canton is a land-locked metropolis, however it will likely be an island on enshrinement weekend (Aug. 3-6) — Revis Island.
Klecko, 69, got here up a special means than Revis. Despite a wonderful profession at Temple, he lasted till the sixth spherical of the 1977 draft — the 144th decide. He additionally needed to wait a very long time for Canton to name. After failing for 20 years as a modern-era candidate, he moved into the seniors class and waited one other 15 years.
“I don’t know who said this — it’s not my original quote — but someone said, ‘We leave football and we go on with our lives, but football never leaves us,'” Klecko instructed ESPN. “When it gets brought back into your life in such a tremendous way, like the Hall of Fame … wow. You relive every moment, you think about your teammates, the special moments, the big plays, the bad plays … all those things come flying back to you. It’s a wave of all types of emotions.”
When Klecko bought his made-for-TV, Hall of Fame knock on the door, it was Namath on the doorstep of his New Jersey dwelling, delivering the excellent news. At first, Klecko thought it was meals supply; he had ordered out. Namath, who flew up from Florida for the event, was decked out in his gold Hall of Fame blazer.
Upon opening the door, Klecko made a crack to his spouse about Namath displaying up for lunch. Then it turned emotional. Embracing Klecko, Namath welcomed him to the best fraternity in professional soccer.
“I’ve been retired for so long now — and people know who you are, of course — but when they tell you, ‘You’re a member of the Hall of Fame,’ it is just different. It’s so special and it’s so exhilarating when they tell you. There are no words. It’s very, very special feeling that you get. It’s an emotional feeling. It’s very hard to express, it really is.”