Von Miller, Antonio Armstrong headline A&M Hall of Fame inductees

Von Miller, a two-time All-American who posted 33 sacks from 2007-10, heads a celebrated six-member list of the 2017 Texas A&M Hall of Fame Class.

Also included in the class are women’s basketball star Danielle Adams, Track & Field star Jessica Beard, diver Eric Sehn, baseball player Jim Hacker and the late Antonio Armstrong, an All-American linebacker in 1994.

The group will be inducted on Sept. 15 at the 40th annual Burgess Banquet at the Kyle Field Hall of Champions.

Miller came to A&M as a four-star recruit out of DeSoto High School in 2007 and made an immediate impact by earning Freshman All-Big 12 recognition. However, that was just a glimpse of what was to come.

As a junior, he emerged as one of the most dominant defensive players in the nation. Playing the defensive end/linebacker hybrid “Jack” position, Miller led the country with 17 sacks to become A&M’s first All-American in 10 years. Miller overcame an early high ankle sprain his senior year to post 10.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss to earn consensus All-American accolades.

He was then the selected second overall (behind Cam Newton) in the 2011 NFL draft by the Denver Broncos and quickly established himself among the NFL’s best defensive players.

Miller, who has been to five Pro Bowls and was named first team All-Pro three times, reached the peak of his brilliant pro career in the 2015 Super Bowl when he recorded six tackles, 2.5 sacks and forced two fumbles in the Broncos’ 24-10 victory over Newton and the Carolina Panthers.

Like Miller, Armstrong, Class of ’94, was a star linebacker.

He was a four-year letter winner (1991-94) and helped A&M go 42-5-1 and win two Southwest Conference championships in that span. He was named All-American and was a Butkus Award semifinalist in 1994. He also was named the Cotton Bowl Defensive Player of the Year that season.

A sixth-round draft choice of the San Francisco 49ers in 1995, he played for the 49ers and Miami Dolphins.

Armstrong passed away last year.

Adams, Class of ’11, led the Aggies to the 2011 NCAA basketball championship. She was named outstanding player of the Women’s Final Four and scored 30 points in the national championship game victory over Notre Dame. A consensus All-American, Adams set a school record with a 19.5-point career scoring average and scored a school record 847 points in the 2010-11 season.

She was a second-round draft choice of the WNBA’s San Antonio Stars and continues to play professionally.

Beard, Class of ’11, was a four-year letter winner who helped A&M win three consecutive NCAA Outdoor national championships. She won the 2011 Bowerman Award, which is the top honor in collegiate track & field.

A 16-time All-American, Beard swept the 2011 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor 400-meter titles and was the Big 12 Indoor Athlete of the Year. She helped the Aggies win four straight Big 12 outdoor titles and three straight indoor crowns.

Hacker, Class of ’74, was a four-year letterman (1971-74) and an All-American and Southwest Conference Player of the Year in ’74.

He hit .477 in conference games to win the SWC batting title with the fourth-highest average in conference history at the time. He completed the ’74 season with a .406 average and was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the fifth round of the ’74 draft. He played two seasons in the Braves organization.

Sehn, Class of ’08, was a four-year letterman who scored school-record 151 career individual points in four trips to the NCAA Championships. A 12-time All-American, he won 11 of a possible 12 conference diving titles and was the conference Diver of the Meet and Diver of the Year all four years he competed.

A 2012 Olympian for Canada, Sehn was an eight-time Canadian National Champion and twice qualified for the World Championships.

Also to be honored at the Burgess Banquet are Faculty Athletic Representative Dr. Tom Adair, Class of ’57, and former football letterman and his wife, Gay and Gale Oliver, III, Class of ’60, as 2017 Hall of Honor inductees.

David Van Houten, Class of ’71, a baseball player who achieved success at the highest level of his profession, has been selected as recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.