April 16, 2020 Best HBCU studs for all 32 NFL teams With the NFL Draft coming up this week Miami Dolphins. XTRA!! (April 23-25), ESPN ran a story last Wednesday We are following up on that ESPN story by with the headline – Best small-college studs for profiling the best HBCU players from all 32 NFL all 32 NFL teams – highlighting the fact that “You teams. don’t have to play at a traditional college football Last week the BCSP Xtra! outlined the best power to achieve NFL stardom.” HBCU performers on the 16 AFC teams. There were 15 former black college players – This week we focus on the best HBCU players nearly half the list – highlighted from the 32 NFL historically on the 16 NFC teams. JERRY teams including, among others, Pro Football Hall Both the AFC list and NFC lists are posted this RICE of Famers Walter Payton of Jackson State and week on Onnidan.com, the online home of the THE G-O-A-T?: Hard to argue against the Chicago Bears, Jerry Rice of Mississippi BLACK COLLEGE SPORTS PAGE. when you see the production and the Valley State and the San Francisco 49ers and Enjoy! and let us know your opinion. records in his 21 years in the NFL. Larry Little of Bethune-Cookman and the Compiled by Lut Williams, BCSP Editor The text-wrapped pictures below are of players from NFC teams the BLACK COLLEGE SPORTS PAGE feels deserve to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. They are: Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Erik Williams, Robert Porcher, Donald Driver, Jimmie Giles, Harold Jackson and Isaiah Robertson. NFC EAST DALLAS COWBOYS Rayfield Wright, OT, Fort Valley State - 1967-79 Was voted to the Pro Bowl six straight seasons (1971–1976), was a three-time first team all-Pro (1971-73), two-time Super Bowl champion (VI, XII), a member of the 1970s all-Decade team, was the NFLPA Offensive Lineman of the Year (1972) and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. For thirteen seasons, Wright played more than 200 games, started at right tackle in six NFC Championship games, and played in five Super Bowls. He anchored the line for an offense that finished in the top Rayfield Wright Fort Valley State ten in scoring all ten seasons of the 1970s, while helping pave the way for the first five 1,000-yard rushers in Cowboys’ history. OTHERS: – Ed “Too Tall” Jones (1974-78, 1980-89), DE, Tennessee State At 6-9, the No. 1 pick in the 1974 NFL Draft, made the Pro Bowl three times was a three-time All-Pro and Super Bowl champion (XII). Unofficially posted 106 sacks, officially 57.5 with 19 fumble recover- ies. Jones was one of the most dominant defensive players of his era, playing in 16 playoff games and three Super Bowls. He was part of three NFC championship teams and the Super Bowl XII champion. His success batting down passes convinced the NFL to keep track of it Ed “Too Tall” as an official stat. Jones – Nate Newton (1986-98), OT, Florida A&M Was a three-time Super Bowl champion (XXVII, XXVIII, XXX), made six Pro Bowls (1992-96, 1998) and was a two-time all-Pro; – Erik Williams (1991-2000), OT, Central State Was a three-time Super Bowl champion (XXVII, XXVIII, XXX), made four Pro Bowls (1993, 1996, 1997, 1999) and was a three-time first team all-Pro. Ed “Too Tall” Jones (1974-89), DE, Tennessee State Having 57.5 official sacks and 106, according to the Cowboys. He’s the fifth-leading tackler in franchise history with 1,032 takedowns. He was both a three-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro after being the No. 1 overall pick in 1973. Erik Williams Central State – Bob Hayes (), WR, Florida A&M Dubbed the world’s fastest man after winning the 100-yard dash in the 1964 Olympics, he became ‘Bullet Bob Hayes with the Cowboys. He was a first-team All-Pro twice and Pro Bowler three times in his 10 years with the Cowboys. His 71 receiving touchdowns stood as a record for over 40 years until being broken in 2017. Finished with 371 receptions for 7,414 yards. Inducted into Bob Hayes Florida A&M the Hall of Fame in 2009. – Everson Walls (1981-89), CB, Grambling State NEW YORK GIANTS Roosevelt “Rosey” Brown, OT, Morgan State - 1953-65 Lots of good choices here, especially with Michael Strahan (Texas Southern) and Phil Simms (Moorehead State) in the mix. But Brown has more Pro Bowl (nine) and All- Pro (six) selections than any Giant not named Lawrence Taylor. Not bad for an offensive tackle selected in the 27th round as the 321st overall pick out of Morgan State. Brown played his entire 13-year career with the Giants, won an NFL championship in 1956 and Roosevelt Brown earned a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Morgan State OTHERS: – Harry Carson (1976-88), MLB, South Carolina State Pro Football Hall of Famer, 9-time Pro Bowler. 2-time first-team All-Pro. Super Bowl champion. Considered one of the best leaders and captains in team history. In the Giants Ring of Honor. – Michael Strahan (1993-2007), DE, Texas Southern Pro Football Hall of Fame. 7-time Pro Bowler. 4-time first-team All-Pro. Super Bowl champion. NFL Defensive Player of the Year (2001). Still holds the NFL record for most sacks in a single season (22.5, 2001). Finished with team-record 141.5 sacks. Giants Ring of Honor. Harry Carson – Homer Jones (1964-69), WR, Texas Southern In a 1965 game, after scoring a touch- South Carolina State down, he threw the football down hard in the end zone. He called the move a “spike”; modern post-touchdown celebrations, including “touchdown dances”, are said to have came from Jones’ invention. In 1967, Jones had his best season, catching 49 passes for 1,209 yards, an average of 24.7 yards per catch, and 13 touchdowns, leading the NFL in receiving touchdowns. He was second in the league in combined rushing and receiving yards from scrimmage, behind Leroy Kelly of the Browns. He made the NFL’s Pro Bowl that season and the next. Michael Strahan – Jack Spinks (1956-57), OG/RB, Alcorn State; Texas Southern – Lewis Tillman (1989-93), RB, Jackson State. PHILAdeLphiA EAGLES Harold Carmichael, WR, Southern - 1971-83 Four (4) Pro Bowls, NFL 1970s All-Decade Team, NFL Man of the Year (1980), Philadelphia Eagles 75th Anniversary Team, Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame, elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020. Carmichael led the league in both receptions (79) and receiving yards (1,116) in his first season as a starter. He ended up making four Pro Bowls and setting a league record with a catch in 127 consecutive games. Carmichael re- tired as the franchise’s all-time leader in career catches (590), yards (8,985), and receiving Harold Carmichael touchdowns (79), and still holds each of those records today. Southern OTHERS: – Hugh Douglas (1994-2002, 2004), DE, Central State Picked up 12.5 sacks in his first season, including a ridiculous 4.5 in a game against San Diego. Had 15 sacks in 2000, , two forced fumbles, an interception, and a league-leading 21 quarterback hits. In the process, he became the first Eagles defensive player to earn a First-Team All-Pro se- lection since Clyde Simmons in 1992. He averaged 12 sacks and 17 tackles for loss in a year-span from 2000 through 2002, then came back in a part-time role n 2004 to help the Eagles advance to the Super Bowl. – Roynell Young (1980-1988), DB, Alcorn State Young was selected by the Eagles from Alcorn State University in the first round (23rd overall) of the 1980 NFL Draft. In his rookie year, he played in Super Bowl XV and was selected to the Pro Bowl in his second season (1981). He was one of two players who played in both Super Bowl XV and The Fog Bowl for the Eagles. WAShingtON REDSKINS Ken Houston, S, Prairie View A&M - 1973-80 Pro Football Hall of Fame (1986); named to 12 consecutive Pro Bowls from 1968- 1979, including seven with Redskins. Aall-league free safety player for twelve consecutive years: On the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl from 1970 through 1979. He was selected All-Pro three times. In 1999, he was ranked number 61 on The Sporting News’ list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. Houston intercepted 49 passes, recovered 21 fumbles, gained 1,498 return yards (on interception, fumble, blocked field goal, kickoff, and punt -re Ken Houston turns), and scored 12 touchdowns. Prairie View A&M OTHERS: – Doug Williams (1986-1989), QB, Grambling State Super Bowl XXII MVP; first Afri- can American starting quarterback to win Super Bowl. He passed for 340 yards and four touchdowns, a single-quarter record which he set in the second quarter, to win the game. – Lemar Parrish (), DB, Lincoln (Mo.) Two-time Pro Bowl selection, 21 interceptions in four seasons with Washington. – Charlie Brown (1982-84), WR, South Carolina State In three years in Washington, Doug Williams grabbed 128 passes for 19 TDs. Best season was 1983 when he had 78 receptions for Grambling State 1,225 yards and eight TDs. NFC NORTH ChicAGO BeARS Walter Payton, RB, Jackson State - 1975-87 The Bears drafted Payton out of Jackson State in the first round (No. 4 overall) of the 1975 NFL draft.