NLU standout Folston named to Hall of Fame

James Folston was a terror coming off the edge for the NLU Indians in the early 90s.

The defensive end’s place in program lore was already secured after breaking the record for most career sacks. That honor earned Folston a spot in the ULM Hall of Fame.

This year Folston adds another hall of fame honor, this time in his home state of Florida.

Folston will be inducted to the 2015 class of the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in Brevard County, Florida. This year’s inductees, which include Folston, PGA golfer Paul Azinger and former NASCAR driver Geoff Bodine, are set to be honored at the Cocoa Beach Country Club on May 8.

The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes and coaches from the Central Florida area, named for the region’s proximity to Kennedy Space Center.

Folston played only one year of varsity football at Cocoa High School, but it was enough to catch the eye of then-Northeast Louisiana University.

Playing for head coach Dave Roberts, Folston worked his way into the starting lineup at defensive end as a sophomore. He recorded 12 sacks as a junior in 1992 and set the program record with 27 career sacks as a senior in 1993. The 1993 NLU Indians made the Division 1-AA playoffs in their final year at that level and is the last team in program history to record at least nine wins. Following the 1993 season, the school jumped to the Division 1-A level, where the football team has competed since.

Folston closed his college career by being named an All-American by the Associated Press, Football Gazette and the Walter Camp Foundation.

The closest anyone has come to matching Folston’s sack record is Aaron Morgan, who collected 22 sacks from 2006-09. ULM’s single season records for sacks in one game (5.5) and in a season (18.5) belong to former San Diego Charger Steve Foley, set during the 1997 season.

After being chosen to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl and the Hula Bowl, Folston was drafted in the second round by the Los Angeles Raiders in 1994. He spent eight seasons in the NFL with the Raiders and the Arizona Cardinals.

Folston was inducted into the ULM Hall of Fame in 2010 along with legendary men’s basketball coach Mike Vining and Maria Lindstrom, a tennis All-American that finished her career as the winningest singles player in the history of the school.

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