NEW ORLEANS — When Pro Football Hall of Famers like Walter "Sweetness" Payton, Jerry Rice, Jackie Slater, Mel Blount, Willie Lanier, Art Shell and Richard Dent were playing college football at their respective historically black colleges and universities, they were not offered opportunities for greater exposure to a future in the NFL.
They earned and fought for their spots into the league, incorporating strong work ethic, discipline, internal motivation and talent to defy the odds. It paid off for those seven, who partially make up the group of 34 HBCU players—nearly 10% of the NFL’s total number of 362 Pro Football Hall of Famers—currently enshrined into the HOF.
On Saturday, two HBCU legends from Grambling State and former NFL stars—Doug Williams and James “Shack“ Harris—lit the fire of a new torch in jumpstarting the process to restore the narrative that talent that can be found in smaller programs in the HBCU Legacy Bowl.
As Williams and Harris—the essential brains behind the creation of the inaugural postseason HBCU all-star game—stood midfield at Tulane’s Yulman Stadium on a sunny day in the heart of New Orleans, the futures of nearly 100 players across the two teams were forever changed.
Players were separated into two teams—Team Robinson and Team Gaither—in honor of two iconic HBCU coaches in Eddie Robinson and Jake Gaither. Robinson, whose 408 career wins still stand as the third-most in college football history, coached at Grambling State while Gaither is one of 95 coaches in college football history with 200 or more career wins (204) with a single program during his tenure at Florida A&M.
With players like Williams—a former Super Bowl XXII champion and MVP—and Harris—a former Pro Bowl MVP—spearheading a change in the outlook of HBCU football, the players did not take it lightly.
“It was an honor to play in front of them [Williams and Harris]…They are helping bridge the gap between HBCUs and the professional ranks,” said Norfolk State defensive lineman De’Shaan Dixon.
“We are the ambassadors for those guys who are still fighting for a chance to get to the league … I belong in the league and other HBCU players deserve a shot. There is talent at HBCUs that was not looked at before.”
Dixon, who helped lead Team Gaither to a 22–6 win in the game, was pegged by several members of the media and scouts as a player to watch in this year’s all-star game and one that could be playing on Sundays in the NFL.
When it comes to coaching NFL talent, no one is more fitting for the task than Team Gaither's coach in Oliver ”Buddy” Pough. He has coached several South Carolina State players to the NFL, including 2021 Pro Bowler Javon Hargrave and 2018 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and three-time Pro Bowler Darius Leonard. Bowie State coach Damon Wilson also joined Pough on the sideline for Team Gaither.
Like Dixon, Team Gaither quarterbacks Geremy Hickbottom (Tennessee State)—the offensive MVP of the inaugural game—and Steven ”Bryce” Witt (Chowan University) along with receiver Marquis McClain left their mark on the game.
Hickbottom, a former quarterback at Grambling, transferred to Tennessee State to play for Tigers head coach Eddie George ahead of the fall 2021 season. He says this experience was one he will not forget.
“I thank Grambling and Tennessee State for giving me a chance to showcase my talent... You normally get looked over and I put in work leading up to this game,” Hickbottom said. This experience was like no other.”
Witt concurred. He added: “This is a game we’ve been playing our whole lives … getting HBCU football promoted, having 20 plus NFL teams here to watch ... we [HBCU players] can play no matter what conference or division.”
Last April, no players from HBCUs were drafted into the NFL. For coaches like JSU's Deion Sanders, it served as a wake-up call that change was needed among the HBCU ranks in football as well as sports and the overall landscape.
“I witnessed a multitude of kids that we played against that were more than qualified to be drafted," Sanders said in May. “My prayers are that this won’t ever happen again. Get yo knife out my back and fight with me not against me!”
In the last two decades, only 26 players from the SWAC have been drafted into the NFL. Of those 26, only four have been first or second-round selections. Between 1960 and 1999, however, 196 players were drafted, with 55 of them going in the first or second rounds.
That could change in the 2022 NFL draft in April. FAMU head coach Willie Simmons and Albany State coach Gabe Giardina coached Team Robinson, a group that featured two-time Deacon Jones Trophy winner (player of the year for Black college football) in Alabama A&M quarterback Aqeel Glass, Alabama State's Ezra Gray, FAMU's Antwan Collier—the defensive MVP—and Derrick Mayweather as well as Alcorn's Juwan Taylor and Bethune Cookman's Untareo Johnson, to name a few.
Glass, who many consider an NFL-ready quarterback, isn’t allowing the hype around him potentially being drafted get to him. Instead, he’s focused on getting better, listening to greats like Williams and preparing for his future when the moment comes. “I'm going to get ready for my pro day and continue to work until my name is called,” he said.
Jake Crandall/USA Today Network
With 50 days until the NFL draft, Williams and Harris hope that their brainchild will allow players like Glass and others to start their journeys in the professional ranks.
The two, along with others on a committee, spent hours watching film on the athletes who were invited to the all-star game. If this year's draft goes by without a player from an HBCU called, it won't be because the players were not given the exposure to display their abilities.
“There's two or three players from both teams who deserve to be on somebody's NFL 53, practice squad or whatever... there is nowhere in my mind that you can tell me these guys are not good enough to play in the NFL,“ Williams told NFL Network during practice leading up to the game.
And as for the future of HBCU football, thanks to the transfer portal allowing HBCU programs to acquire players with Power 5 experience along with Sanders getting noteworthy freshman recruits, a new generation of HBCU athletes is on the rise.
Williams and Harris are helping to facilitate the dawn of a new era of black college football.
Players to Watch for in 2022 NFL Draft
Team Gaither
- Jah-Maine Martin, North Carolina A&T
- Cam Durley, Tennessee State
- De'Shaan Dixon, Norfolk State
- James Fagan, Hampton University
- Trey Gross, Delaware State
Team Robinson
- Aqeel Glass, Alabama A&M
- Ezra Gray, Alabama State
- Juwan Taylor, Alcorn State
- Untareo Johnson, Bethune Cookman
- Antwan Collier, Florida A&M
- Keonte Hampton, Jackson State
- Al Young, Jackson State
- Jawon Pass, Prairie View
