Former Colts edge rusher Dwight Freeney will lead off the speeches at the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 3, the Hall announced Thursday.
The broadcast then will cut from Canton to Steve McMichael’s home in suburban Chicago for his formal enshrinement. McMichael is battling ALS, so the Hall, broadcast partner ESPN and the McMichael family arranged for the bust to arrive at McMichael’s house Saturday morning.
Misty and Macy McMichael, Steve’s wife and daughter, respectively, will be on hand. They also will present Steve with his Gold Jacket.
Then, it’s Randy Gradishar, Devin Hester, Patrick Willis and Julius Peppers before Andre Johnson completes speeches by the seven-member Class of 2024.
The Hall now has 378 enshrinees.
The ceremony will begin at noon ET, and each enshrinee will have 10 minutes.
The presenters for each member of the Class of 2024, which were previously announced, are:
Dwight Freeney – Jim Irsay, Indianapolis Colts owner
Randy Gradishar – Tom Jackson, Randy’s former Broncos teammate
Devin Hester – Juanita Brown, Devin’s mother
Andre Johnson – Gary Kubiak, Andre’s former Texans head coach
Steve McMichael – Jarrett Payton, Steve’s longtime friend and sports anchor
Julius Peppers – Carl Carey, Julius’ longtime friend, mentor and agent
Patrick Willis – Ernicka Willis, Patrick’s sister