Hester, Peppers thrilled ahead of Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement; McMichael will have ceremony at home
CANTON, Ohio (CBS) --Devin Hester, Julius Peppers, and Steve McMichael are among the 2024 class set to be enshrined Saturday in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, where their jerseys are already on display.
The Hall of Fame gallery is also ready for their busts to sit with the greats of the game for all time. Peppers, Hester, and the other soon-to-be-Hall-of-Famers also got to sit Friday with current members of the for the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame photo.
"Since we've been here this week, seeing all of the guys that we looked up to—it's starting to set in a little bit," said Peppers.
Meanwhile, Hester looked back on both what he missed about playing football in the NFL, and what he missed out on while doing so.
"You don't miss the game. But you miss the locker room. You miss the teammates," he said. "You guys don't realize like, when you talk about we get so much free time, we really don't. I missed a lot of time with my family—you know, my boys growing up—because we're so locked into football."
Hester, the first return specialist to make the hall, will have his mom introduce him during the enshrinement ceremony. He credited her as the reason he made the Hall of Fame.
"I'm not going to give all the credit to myself, saying that I never gave up, because there were some points in my life because I did give up," he said. "But she stayed by my side. She encouraged in my head; instilled in my head that we all go through these trials and tribulations, but hey listen, once you achieve that other side of the road—and once it's all said and done—you will be happy that you didn't give up."
"A dream come true" for Steve "Mongo" McMichael
McMichael could not be at the induction ceremony due to complications of the ALS he has been battling for the past three years.
"It's a dream come true. If you guys haven't experienced, I hope you get an opportunity go watch it, go see it, go walk around—and you get an opportunity to see all the great ones." all the great ones, from 1960s… every guy that paved the way is in one room… unreal.
McMichael could not be at the induction ceremony due to complications of the ALS that McMichael has been battling for the past three years. But his wife, Misty, was in Canton—along with Bears Hall of famers Richard Dent and Jimbo Covert.
Both Dent and Covert were teammates of McMichael's, and were also very their friend lived to see this dream come true. They both shared memories of McMichael as a player and person.
"You know, I mean, he's handled this whole thing with, you know, such grace and composure and courage, I mean, it's going to be—for me, and for all of our teammates that we played with, I mean, he's such an incredible person, and I'm just so glad to see this happen," said Covert.
McMichael will receive his gold jacket and bust from Hall of Fame President Jim Porter in a special ceremony at his home in Homer Glen Saturday. Dent and Covert will both be there.
"It's always been my honor that it took place, you know, to make sure that we do what he asked for—and to me, it's a pleasure," said Dent. "You know, wherever his life goes from this point, you know, he can rest in peace."