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Rocket Ismail Didn’t Need the Hall of Fame to be Legendary

Raghib “The Rocket” Ismail did not need the College Football Hall of Fame to induct him into the hall to be a Hall of Famer. Heck, most people who learned he had been inducted assumed he was already in. It did occur to me however, that the older I get, the more people who are becoming fans who don’t really know what The Rocket was about.

First, there is the name. From about the middle of his freshman season to pretty much present day, he’s referred to as The Rocket or just Rocket. He rarely is referred to as Raghib, mostly because of the nickname, but also because no one really knows how to pronounce his first name (the “g” is hard, as in Gipper, and it rhymes with glib).