Former UCLA safety Kenny Easley elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame

Kenny Easley, who starred at UCLA before playing his entire NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks, was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
(Rick Stewart / Getty Images)

Former UCLA safety Kenny Easley was one of seven voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Kidney disease cut Easley’s professional career as the 1981 first-round draft pick was forced to retire in 1987 after spending his entire NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks.

In 1984, he won the Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He was a four-time All-Pro selection and was elected to the Pro Bowl five times.

Easley is one of the best players to come out of UCLA. He was a three-time consensus All-American and was the first player in Pac-12 history to be named an all-conference selection for four straight years. He still holds the program record for interceptions in a career (19). In 1980, he finished in ninth place for the Heisman Trophy. His No. 5 jersey is retired by the school, and he was voted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1991.

The 2017 Pro Football Hall of Fame class also includes running backs Terrell Davis and LaDanian Tomlinson, quarterback Kurt Warner, kicker Morten Anderson, defensive end Jason Taylor and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. The class will be enshrined on Aug. 5 in Canton, Ohio.