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Troy University legend DeMarcus Ware is officially a Pro Football Hall of Famer, as he has been selected to be a part of the Class of 2023, announced at a ceremony on Thursday.

It was Ware’s second year on the ballot and the legendary defender becomes the first Troy player to ever be selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and just the 16th player from an Alabama high school or college to be inducted into football’s most grand Hall of Fame. Ware is also the first Sun Belt alumni to ever be enshrined in Canton, Ohio.

Ware is also a member of the Troy University Sports Hall of Fame and Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Before he became a perenial Pro Bowerl in the NFL, Ware was a star at Auburn High School and then moved on to dominating college football at Troy. Ware earned All-Sun Belt and NCAA Division I-A All-Independent honors during his Troy career. In 2003, he won Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year. Ware ended his Trojan career first all-time in tackles-for-loss (55.5 tackles-for-loss) along with earning 27 career sacks, as well. He was selected as a member of the Sun Belt All-Decade Team for the 2000s.

Following his stellar college career, Ware became the first Trojan to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft when the Dallas Cowboys selected him 11th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft. Ware rewarded the Cowboys by becoming one of the best – and most feared – pass rushers in the history of the NFL. He earned Pro Bowl honors nine times, All-Pro honors seven times, Butkus Award winner twice and NFL Sack Champion twice. He was also selected to the NFL’s All-Decade team of the 2000s.

While Ware played the majority of his NFL career in Dallas, he played his final three seasons with the Denver Broncos, winning a Super Bowl in 2016.