Former Whiteland quarterback Adam Money (5) is one of this year’s inductees into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame.
Submitted photo
Ceremonies designed to induct Jayme Washel and Mike McClure into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame took place 16 days and 13 miles apart.
Former Whiteland quarterback Adam Money, a Florida resident the past three years, plays the waiting game until he returns to his hometown next month.
Different backgrounds and accomplishments aside, the three occupy the same huddle as part of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.
McClure, 71, who’s entering his 49th season as an assistant or head coach, absorbed much-deserved spotlight on July 18 at the Garment Factory in Franklin, an event that drew approximately 100 supporters.
The 50-year old Washel, a former defensive lineman at Greenwood and later Purdue University, was inducted at the Oaken Barrel Brewery in Greenwood on Aug. 3.
In both cases, family members, close friends and football colleagues teamed up to make the events unforgettably special.
“It’s quite an honor,” said McClure, currently the quarterbacks coach at Franklin. “Some of the guys in the Hall of Fame are just legendary, so you have to feel humbled.
“I’m really honored to be part of that list of people.”
The Hall of Fame’s latest class welcomed 29 new inductees spread across seven of the state’s regions. McClure, Washel and Money represent Region 8.
“I would say there were probably 50 or 60 people there,” said Washel, a 1992 GHS graduate who just passed the one-year mark as chief of the Greenwood Fire Department. “I’ll be honest with you … those kind of things are hard for me. Obviously, it was a huge honor. I wasn’t expecting it.”
Money, 35, is a 2007 Whiteland product who resides with his wife Ally and their two young daughters in Orlando, is head orthopedic physician for Osceola Magic, the G League team for the NBA’s Orlando Magic.
He’ll return to Whiteland in time for the Warriors’ home game against Franklin — with McClure on the opposite sideline, no less — on Sept. 13. Money’s induction takes place the following evening at a yet-to-be-determined location.
“Anytime that I can represent Whiteland, and what coach (Darrin) Fisher has done for the program, and coach (Ken) Sears before him …” Money said. “Any chance I can praise those guys is something I very much cherish. I feel very honored.”
During their respective ceremonies, McClure and Washel thanked those who helped them along their gridiron journey. Soon enough, Money, who went on to become an All-Ivy League cornerback his junior and senior seasons at Yale University, will too.
“I think it’s the relationships you make,” Washel said. “There are a flood of memories that come back. If you talk to a lot of former players, you always come back to your high school and college days.”
