Inducted 2023

The accolades and accomplishments are as impressive as his play was on the field for Cody Kessler. His four-year tenure at Centennial High School is one of the best for a two-sport athlete in Kern County history. His football prowess is the one he is best known for as the three-year starting quarterback at USC after his star-studded prep days for the Golden Hawks before his NFL tenure. But Kessler was also widely considered a Division I basketball player while becoming the first in the history of All-Area selections for The Bakersfield Californian to be named Player of the Year in football and basketball in the same season during his junior year. And likely would have done so his senior year had he not enrolled early to start his collegiate career for the Trojans. In total, Kessler threw for 6,878 yards in three seasons at Centennial with 56 passing touchdowns and another 29 on the ground. He was rated the second-best pro style quarterback in the nation his senior year and played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Kessler was also named the California Gatorade Football Player of the Year in 2010 after throwing for 2,831 yards and 28 touchdowns while leading Centennial to the Central Section Division I championship game. Kessler was a three-year starter for USC with a career total of 10,339 passing yards and 88 touchdowns and was named the Las Vegas Bowl MVP in 2013 in the win over Fresno State. The next spring, Kessler’s name was called in the third round and the 93rd overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns and started eight games his rookie season. Kessler went to to play for the Browns for two seasons before starting four games for Jacksonville in 2018 before retiring after the 2019 season where he was a backup for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.