The temperature was about 60 degrees warmer when Clay Matthews was inducted into the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame than when the former Southern Cal linebacker played in Mobile’s annual all-star.

Matthews joined Chris Johnson, Lane Johnson, Brian Westbrook and Marshal Yanda as the members of the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023. They were inducted on Sunday evening during a ceremony in the Grand Ballroom at the Grand Hotel Golf Club and Spa in Point Clear.

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“It was 33 degrees and freezing rain, so it wasn’t one of those memories that I have on the forefront,” Matthews said of his experience in the 2009 Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. “But ultimately that wasn’t the reason why we were here. The main reason was the Senior Bowl, the premier college football all-star game for bringing guys from all over to compete against one another.

“Ultimately, I had a blast the week in which I was here. I was able to play with a number of my teammates from USC as well as guys I had watched on TV. And it was a great opportunity to compete at the highest level, not shy away from that – those bright spotlights and the spirit of competition – and have an opportunity to kind of showcase ourselves and further improve our draft stock. And that’s exactly what we did – or at least, I did.”

Matthews joined the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He was a Pro Bowler in six of his first seven seasons and earned first-team All-Pro recognition in 2010, when the Packers won Super Bowl XLV.

“It’s great, especially when you look at the players who have come before this year and this year alone,” Matthews said of the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame honor. “You look at the guys, these are guys that are going to end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, if they haven’t already done so. To me, I’m honored by it. I joked with Jim (Nagy, the Senior Bowl’s executive director). I said, ‘I think I had two tackles that night. It was freezing rain; I was nursing a torn arch from the Rose Bowl.’

“But ultimately, I think it’s a tremendous honor, and I’m happy that they’re doing something like this, not only for our own recognition but to kind of keep it alive because with all this transition of payment for certain opportunities, this is a great time to come out, compete, show scouts, coaches, everybody in the NFL what you’re all about to elevate your draft stock.”

A running back from Villanova, Westbrook played in the 2002 Senior Bowl. An offensive lineman from Iowa, Yanda played in the 2007 Senior Bowl. A running back from East Carolina, Chris Johnson played in the 2008 Senior Bowl. An offensive tackle from Oklahoma, Lane Johnson played in the 2013 Senior Bowl.

A Pro Bowler in each of his first three NFL seasons with the Tennessee Titans, Chris Johnson became the sixth NFL player with 2,000 rushing yards in a single season in 2009, when he was first-team All-Pro running back and the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

Lane Johnson completed his 10th NFL season on Feb. 12 in Super Bowl LVII. The 2022 campaign included Johnson’s fourth Pro Bowl invitation and second first-team All-Pro selection. His first All-Pro recognition came in 2017, when the Eagles won Super Bowl LII.

“I remember coming in, and it was full-tilt boogie within a few hours,” Lane Johnson said of his Senior Bowl experience with the Detroit Lions coaching staff. “The practices really did a lot. The (NFL Scouting) Combine’s one thing, but getting out here and competing and playing football did a lot for the scouts and the evaluators, and that’s what really sets it apart.”

Lane Johnson is the only member of the Class of 2023 who is still an active player.

“I’m excited,” Johnson said shortly before the start of Sunday’s ceremony. “When you’re in the whole thing, you’re playing, the years go by quick, you don’t really get to kind of appreciate the road to it. But now I’m getting to appreciate all the years.”

Westbrook played eight of his nine NFL seasons with Philadelphia. He received two Pro Bowl invitations and was the first-team All-Pro running back in 2007, when he posted his second straight 1,000-yard rushing season with 1,333 yards and caught 90 passes for 771 yards to lead the NFL with 2,104 yards from scrimmage.

Yanda spent his entire 13-year career with the Baltimore Ravens, mostly manning right guard. An eight-time Pro Bowler, Yanda earned first-team All-Pro recognition in 2014 and 2015 and won an NFL championship in Super Bowl XLVII.

The Senior Bowl Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 1988, when the members were Joe Greene, Lee Roy Jordan, Steve Largent, Joe Namath, Walter Payton, Bubba Smith, Pat Sullivan, Jim Taylor and Travis Tidwell. A class has been chosen every year since except for 2011 and 2020. An NFL lockout scuttled the 2011 selections, and the coronavirus pandemic canceled the 2020 plans.

Along with the Hall of Fame inductees, the Senior Bowl also recognized its 2022 NFL Rookie of the Year selections — Seattle Seahawks cornerback Tariq Woolen on defense and Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce and Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson on offense.

In conjunction with the Hall of Fame festivities, the third annual Senior Bowl Charities Celebrity Golf Classic, presented by First Horizon Bank, will be held at the Grand Hotel’s Lakewood Golf Club on Monday. The event will pair 22 foursomes with celebrities from across the football world, including the new Senior Bowl Hall of Fame inductees and the Rookies of the Year.

Proceeds from the golf tournament benefit the Mobile Baldwin Athletic Partnership, established in 2021. This program provides resources ranging from pants and jerseys to blocking sleds and video technology for underfunded public school football programs in the two counties.

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