There were 31 players from HBCU football programs on NFL rosters at the start of this past season. With the league composed of 32 teams, that’s an average of less than one player per squad. Of the 31, 22 were on active 53-man rosters when the 2023 campaign began.
The season culminated with the Kansas City Chiefs defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in Super Bowl LVIII (58) in a gripping overtime finish. HBCU alum Javon Hargrave is among those who shined in the game. The 31-year-old South Carolina State alum and 49ers defensive lineman had six tackles, three solo tackles, one tackle for a loss and one sack of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Super Bowl MVP.
This week in New Orleans, young men who hope to follow a similar path as Hargrave participated in the HBCU NFL Combine on Monday and will play in the Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl, presented by the Black College Hall of Fame, this Saturday at Yulman Stadium, home of the Tulane University Green Wave.
The Combine was televised by the NFL Network as will the Legacy Bowl (3 p.m.). The two events are showcases for draft eligible players to display their physical skills, mental acumen, and social-emotional maturity in on-field drills and interviews with representatives from the multitude of NFL franchises that are in the Crescent City for the week’s activities.
Players will suit up for Team Gaither and Team Robinson, honoring iconic late HBCU head coaches Alonzo Smith “Jake” Gaither, who led Florida A&M from 1945 to 1969, and Grambling State’s Eddie Robinson, who directed the Tigers from 1941 to 1942, and from 1945 to 1997, and developed more than 200 players that went on to compete in the NFL.
The head coaches for Team Robinson are South Carolina State’s Chennis Berry and Prairie View A&M’s Bubba McDowell. Team Gaither will be directed by Howard’s Larry Scott and Virginia Union’s Dr. Alvin Parker.
Several players had impressive showings at Monday’s Combine, notably Alcorn State running back Jarveon Howard, a Syracuse University transfer; Jackson State safety John Huggins, who began his collegiate career at the University of Florida; and quarterback Davius Richard of North Carolina Central, a two-time MEAC Offensive Player of the Year.
The last HBCU QB drafted by an NFL team was Tarvaris Jackson, taken by the Minnesota Vikings out of Alabama State in 2006 in the 2nd round (64th overall). Jackson played for the Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills in his 10-year NFL career, starting 34 of the 59 games in which he appeared. Jackson was killed in a single-car accident in 2020 at the age of 36 in Alabama.