Former Michigan wide receiver Desmond Howard flashes his signature smile after a news conference for the 2010 National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Awards in New York on Tuesday.

Richard Drew | AP Photo

Former Michigan football wide receiver Desmond Howard is among 14 former players and coaches being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame tonight.

"I had some great coaches and great teammates," Howard said at a news conference prior to the induction ceremony. "It's definitely an honor for me to be going into the Hall of Fame as part of the Michigan family."

Howard, the 1991 Heisman Trophy winner, is joined the hall of fame class by Pat Tillman -- an Arizona State and NFL linebacker killed by friendly fire in Afgahnistan in April 2004 -- and USC's Sam Cunningham, a black running back who ran for 135 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries against an all-white Alabama team in 1970. The Crimson Tide were integrated the following year.

The 2010 class also include the late Dennis Byrd (North Carolina State), Ronnie Caveness (Arkansas), Ray Childress (Texas A&M), Randy Cross (UCLA), Mark Herrmann (Purdue), Clarkston Hines (Duke), Chet Moeller (Navy), Jerry Stovall (LSU), Alfred Williams (Colorado) and coaches Barry Alvarez (Wisconsin) and Gene Stallings (Texas A&M, Alabama).

Comedian Bill Cosby, who was on the Temple football team in 1961, received the National Football Foundation's gold medal, the organization's highest honor. Former NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw received the NFF's Distinguished American award.