Irvin became a household name as the most flamboyant member of one of college football’s most flamboyant teams, the 1987 national champion Miami Hurricanes.

He arrived in Dallas in ’88, the final first-round pick by Tom Landry and Tex Schramm. His second season was marked by the arrival of his college coach, Jimmy Johnson, Aikman, an injury that cost him 10 games and a 1-15 record. But things were changing quickly.

Two years later, Irvin led the league in yards receiving, posting the first of seven 1,000-yard seasons and starting a run of five straight Pro Bowls. The Cowboys won Super Bowls following the ’92, ’93 and ’95 seasons, reaching the NFC title game in ’94.

His best year was 1995, when he caught 111 passes for 1,603 yards and 10 touchdowns, all career highs, and set an NFL record with 11 100-yard games.

Chosen to the NFL’s all-decade team for the 1990s, Irvin was among the top 10 on the career lists for receptions (750) and yards receiving (11,904) when he retired. He wasn’t too high on the touchdown list, having been stopped just shy so many times that his buddy Smith wound up setting all sorts of rushing TD records — or so the joke goes.

A lack of speed was more to blame. His physical gifts were size (6-foot-2, 207 pounds) and strength. And he knew how to use them, forcing the league to create “The Michael Irvin rule” limiting contact between receivers and defenders.

“I never coached a player who had as much passion for the game as Michael Irvin,” Johnson said. “He also was the guy who I knew at crunch time I could depend on to come through with a key play. He never shied away from making the tough catch.”

Despite all his accolades, Irvin couldn’t get into the Hall on his first try. Or his second.

“Mistakes will cost you. That’s the reality,” Irvin said. “I like that it worked out the way it worked out. That’s a lot easier to say now, but I really do believe that.”

Aikman and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones have been Irvin’s most loyal supporters. Aikman was enshrined in Canton last year and will return for Irvin’s big day. Jones will be Irvin’s presenter.

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“Michael showed us all how to get on a knee and get up and come back and overcome that,” Jones said. “It just seemed like it kind of fits his pattern to have gotten knocked down twice (by voters) and then step up there and do it.”

The yellow Hall of Fame jacket won’t be any more garish than many of the suits in Irvin’s closet. Then there’s the matter of his bust.

The sculptor initially made it with an intense game face, but Irvin requested something “a little more jovial.” It wasn’t so simple.

“When I smile, I show teeth and on the bust the teeth are brown, so we didn’t go all the way. It’s more of a smirk,” Irvin said. “I hope people aren’t saying, ’He’s smirking that he got in.”’

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