[
](http://www.embarque.com/)
INDIANAPOLIS – Bye weeks around the NFL means one chance for players to get away during the grind of a 16-game schedule with aspirations to extend into January, and possibly even February.
This marks Cory Redding's 12th such bye week during his NFL career and the vocal leader of the Colts defense is spending this evening back at his old stomping grounds.
Redding is being inducted into the University of Texas Hall of Honor in the 58th such class.
"It's huge," Redding says of the honor.
"Whenever you look back and see all the guys who are on that list…old school Longhorns that have been down there and then you see the guys that I'm going in with now, these guys I went to school with and saw how they played on the field and how they conducted themselves on the field, and off, to have my name thrown in that ballot is just truly humbling, very humbling. I'm very thankful for the road I've traveled to reach this point."
A native of Houston, Redding was one of the most decorated players in his high school class.
Redding was the USA Today's Defensive Player of the Year and had college coaches flocking to North Shore High School.
With the University of Texas just two hours away from Houston, Redding felt at home in Austin and really valued the genuine nature of Longhorns coach Mack Brown.
The on-the-field accolades didn't stop in high school for Redding.
He was the 1999 Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year and finished his career at Texas as a two-time All American.
This marks Redding's third year with the Colts and he has been a key ingredient to the team's back-to-back playoff appearances.
Redding is also extremely active within the community with his foundation continually impacting a variety of avenues.
Along with tonight's induction, Redding and the rest of the 2014 hall class will be honored at the Texas/West Virginia football game on Saturday.
Founded in 1957, the Longhorn Hall of Honor is one of the most cherished athletics traditions at The University of Texas. Its governing body -- the Longhorn Hall of Honor Council -- is made up exclusively of men who have lettered at UT. Each year, a selection committee nominates 16 candidates whose names are distributed to the Hall of Honor Council. To be eligible for nomination, a letterman must have completed his eligibility 10 years prior to the year of election. The four honorees receiving a majority of votes are inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor.
Redding, a two-time All-American and two-time first-team All-Big 12 selection, was a disruptive defensive end who started for three years at Texas. Playing in 52 career games, Redding recorded 211 tackles, 22 sacks, 57 tackles for loss and 77 QB pressures as a Longhorn. His 57 career TFL rank fourth on the UT all-time list. He capped his career in style, leading the Horns to a 35-20 victory over LSU, earning Cotton Bowl Defensive MVP honors in 2002. Redding posted 76 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 24 TFL (No. 3 on the UT all-time season list) and 37 QB pressures en route to first-team All-America honors as a senior. Texas finished 11-2 and ranked No. 6 nationally that year. He also was a finalist for the Lombardi and Hendricks Awards that year. Redding was a key part of a Longhorns defense that led the nation in total defense (236.2 ypg) as a junior, earning second-team All-America honors, when Texas was 11-2 and ranked No. 5 nationally. He was the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year in 1999. Selected in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, Redding is now with the Indianapolis Colts and entering his 12th NFL season. In 11 previous seasons, he played in 160 games with 131 starts, posted 378 tackles, 32 sacks and 11 fumble recoveries. In his 11 year career in the NFL, Redding has only missed eight games.
Very active in charitable activities through his Cory Redding Foundation, Redding was voted the Indianapolis Colts' "Man of the Year" in 2012 and was selected by his teammates as the recipient of the 2013 Ed Block Courage Award. In 2012, Redding and his wife, Priscilla, donated $100,000 to establish the Cory and Priscilla Redding Family Scholarship in the College of Education at The University of Texas. Applicants must exhibit Redding's basic values in life: Desire, Discipline and Dedication. The gift is the university's first from an ex-UT athlete while he is still playing in the National Football League.
Other distinguished and decorated former University of Texas student-athletes set to be inducted into 58th Men's Hall of Honor class include: Doak Walker Award winner, Cedric Benson; two-time first team All-American and 2000 Big 12 Defensive Player of the year, Casey Hampton; and MVP of the 2002 College World Series, Huston Street.
