For the eighth straight year, former Troy players Al Lucas and Freddie Thomas are among the candidates for the College Football Hall of Fame.

For the previous seven years, former Trojans coach Larry Blakeney had joined Lucas and Thomas on the ballot, but he entered the College Football Hall of Fame with the Class of 2025.

The National Football Foundation released the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 on Monday, and it again included Lucas and Thomas, who appeared together for the first time on the ballot for the Class of 2019 and have been included annually since.

This year, Lucas and Thomas are among the 100 players on the divisional portion of the ballot.

Lucas played defensive tackle for Blakeney-coached teams from 1996 through 1999. In his senior season, the two-time All-American won the Buck Buchanan Award as the best defensive player in NCAA FCS. The Trojans won the Southland Conference championship that season, as they had in his freshman campaign in 1996.

Lucas also scored nine touchdowns during his career as a goal-line ball-carrier.

A defensive back, Thomas came to Troy as a walk-on in 1984, when the Trojans won the NCAA Division II championship by beating North Dakota State 18-17.

Thomas left Troy as a champ, too, with the Trojans capturing the NCAA Division II crown in 1987 with a 31-17 victory over Portland State.

Thomas earned All-American recognition in 1986 and 1987.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.