He has played only 27 games. He is only 25 years old. He only gets on the field a few times per game. Most importantly, though, he is going to the Hall of Fame.

Devin Hester is one of the most explosive and entertaining players in the NFL today, and with every kick and punt return (or just anytime he touches the ball in general), he is solidifying himself a place in Canton, Ohio.

Now that’s not to say that if Hester’s career ended today that he would get in, but I believe his performance so far, his level of maturity that has helped him keep succeeding and his impact on the game has allowed him to put together a very strong Hall of Fame resume.

Maybe I’m the ridiculous one for suggesting that a guy who hasn’t played two full seasons should even have his name included in the same sentence as the Hall of Fame, but like all great players who have had their busts immortalized, he isn’t just putting up huge numbers, he is changing the way football is being played.

The most apparent and undeniable qualities of Hester’s accomplishments are his eye-popping statistics. He has 10 regular season touchdown returns – six punts, four kickoffs (and possibly an 11th if you include that missed field goal returned for a score) – in 27 games, which is only three behind the NFL record set by Brian Mitchell who accomplished his record in 223 career games. Hester, who averages about five returns per game and scores on about every 13th return, could potentially break Mitchell’s record by mid-season next year.

Let’s think about that for a second. Hester could break an NFL record, which was accomplished over a 14-season career, in less than three years.

In order to maintain his impressive numbers, Hester, like many great players, has already started to learn how to change and adapt his game to give him an advantage over his opponents.

Last season, the Windy City Flyer used a simple return strategy of getting the coverage team to go one direction, make a hard cut back and then run by everyone else. This season, teams have altered their coverage to Hester’s style and have played much tighter in their lanes.

Hester, however, has developed patience and learned to follow his blockers. Instead of just trying to run by everyone, he waits for holes to open up or follows a lead blocker, which he usually does by putting his hand on the back of his teammate and then waiting for him to throw a block.

The fact that Hester has already developed patience, which many young players in the NFL have a hard time doing, has made him a dual threat runner. He can beat you with his patience or his speed.

One quality that most Hall of Fame players have is an ability to alter the game around them. Lawrence Taylor redefined the linebacker position and the way teams played defense. Steve Young brought the NFL into an era of the scrambling quarterback, which added a whole new dimension to the offense mindset. Now Hester is doing the same thing for special teams.

Sometimes it is hard to tell when watching the game on television, but Hester’s abilities have forced teams into playing unorthodox methods of special teams.

Opponents come out in different formations to get maximum coverage downfield, which can lead to a breakdown in the lanes. Some kickers have become so paranoid about the placement of their kicks that they totally ignore the rush, like this weekend when Todd Sauerbrun basically punted the ball right into Charles Tillman’s hands for a block. Most times, though, teams just kick it short or out of bounds, which usually results in a dominant field position for the Bears offense.

Hester doesn’t even need to have the ball to change the game.

It might sound ridiculous now, but Devin Hester is a future Hall of Famer. He has the stats, the skill and the ability to change the game that all great players have. When it’s all said and done on Hester’s career, the only thing that is going to be ridiculous is the numbers he puts up in the NFL record books.

Kyle Betts is a senior in Communications. He can be reached at [email protected]