NFL Draft No HBCU players taken in the ‘24 NFL Draft (1 Viewer)

[SystemShock]

I don't tthink its anything other than statistics and I'd love to see the numbers on HBCU players the left HBCU through the transfer portal. I'd wager that they are being used as farm clubs for power 5 conferences. if they a\re really good why would they stay at an HBCU when Bama or Ohio State come calling?

Even Deon and his son left an HBCU to go to Colorado... and they took Hunter with them.

 

[KleinBottle]

I think some of the ado being made here is a response to the league at least trying to highlight/showcase HBCU players who may have gone overlooked previously, especially at a time when the people in the newsrooms now were the overlooked players from seasons past. A good friend of mine is a writer for a notable HBCU athletics site, and the site covered the topic all of three times: potential 2024 draft prospects, a 2024 UDFA signing ticker, and a look forward to 2025. It's not teeming with editorials bellyaching about this being the first draft since 2020 to not feature any HBCU draftees. It's mentioned then moved past.

Isaiah Major signed with the Saints as a UDFA - at 6'1 230, he's rangy and agile, and lined up mainly at the Sam linebacker position. He saw some snaps at safety and even nickel back. He's described as deeply knowledgeable, rarely out of position, and a sure tackler. He was the 2023 SWAC defensive player of the year and was a finalist for the FCS defensive player of the year award. Do I feel he deserved to be drafted? Sure, but I watched all seven rounds go by and a reasonably highly-rated LB from a P5 school (Curtis Jacobs, Penn State) didn't get drafted, and his tape and reports read similarly. This could just have been a year where the strongest recruits were in loaded positions - or deprioritized ones.

I think the ask from HBCU student-athletes and their coaches is "please, give us a look" - and the Celebration Bowl, Legacy Bowl, and HBCU Pigskin Showdown are great efforts to shine a light on HBCU talent.

 

[ndcc]

I think some of the ado being made here is a response to the league at least trying to highlight/showcase HBCU players who may have gone overlooked previously, especially at a time when the people in the newsrooms now were the overlooked players from seasons past. A good friend of mine is a writer for a notable HBCU athletics site, and the site covered the topic all of three times: potential 2024 draft prospects, a 2024 UDFA signing ticker, and a look forward to 2025. It's not teeming with editorials bellyaching about this being the first draft since 2020 to not feature any HBCU draftees. It's mentioned then moved past.

Isaiah Major signed with the Saints as a UDFA - at 6'1 230, he's rangy and agile, and lined up mainly at the Sam linebacker position. He saw some snaps at safety and even nickel back. He's described as deeply knowledgeable, rarely out of position, and a sure tackler. He was the 2023 SWAC defensive player of the year and was a finalist for the FCS defensive player of the year award. Do I feel he deserved to be drafted? Sure, but I watched all seven rounds go by and a reasonably highly-rated LB from a P5 school (Curtis Jacobs, Penn State) didn't get drafted, and his tape and reports read similarly. This could just have been a year where the strongest recruits were in loaded positions - or deprioritized ones.

I think the ask from HBCU student-athletes and their coaches is "please, give us a look" - and the Celebration Bowl, Legacy Bowl, and HBCU Pigskin Showdown are great efforts to shine a light on HBCU talent.

Well written; objective and on-point.

 

[SaintRay]

We live in an NFL world where before games they sing the black national anthem. A vast majority of the NFL player pool is black.

For anyone to think that the NFL intentionally chose not to draft any players from historical black colleges is laughable. NFL teams travel the world in an attempt to find that one special player. If the talent is there, they get drafted.

 

[austxsaintfan]

This may have been posted already so excuse me if it has...with the advent of the NIL, the "cream" is rising to the top. What I mean is the P5 schools are getting transfers from other P5 and the top G5 players. The G5's occasionally get a P5 player but mostly the cream of the lower end G5's and HBCU schools. Case in point, Tulane just signed a kid from Grambling. To bring things full circle here, it's highly likely that the "cream" of the HBCU's took that step up to G5 and were drafted from a G5 school. Of course there will be exceptions but most of the best HBCU players are likely taking that step up before they ever become eligible to be drafted.

 

[bobad]

I guess the best a HBCU player can expect is being invited to an OTA workout.

 

[Alan12]

This is a result of the leniency of the transfer rules and the transfer portal system.
This is a problem for all FSC schools.

Indeed it is, but it hurts those larger programs far less losing highly ranked recruits than it does when HBCU's get picked clean of the talent they actually are getting to commit, then leaving after a year or two.

Losing one or two 3- or 4-star recruits out of 10 in the previous year's recruiting class won't sink Alabama, LSU, or Ohio State, but for these HBCU's losing 3-4 of them when they only had 5 or 6 to begin with will certainly be felt.

Will every draft worthy player transfer from a HBCU to a larger program? Of course not, but it seems as though the majority of them will, especially now that the money is talking (always has though really). NFL scouts don't have to look too hard because the scouts of those P5 schools are already doing the work for them.

 

[Lionsaint]

My sons played baseball for HBCU schools here in Louisiana and their problem is that most of them are stuck in the "Past."

Only Jacksonville State and Alabama State are HBCU schools that I know of that have a diverse student body and are in Conference's with non HBCU Schools.

The SWAC should have joined with the Southland Conference years ago but these schools refuse to change and only want to live in the past...

Most kids of today regardless of race want to play at a school that offer the best competition and the best chance to succeed.

I know for a fact that when several Southland schools briefly left the conference a couple years back. (3-4?) that the Southland approach multiple schools from the SWAC and they all said no. Southland went as far as to approach schools as far away as Florida and Ohio before Texas AM Commerce (Dallas) accepted and some of the teams that were leaving ended up staying.

It was a missed opportunity for SWAC teams in my opinion because winners of the Southland conference tournaments in baseball, softball, volleyball, soccer, men and women’s basketball all get automatic entry into the national tournaments. The chance to play in a regional or march madness is huge for exposure. Even if they get eliminated in the first round the Southland conference knows they get a representative in all of those tournaments every year.

 

[St4ever]

Wouldn’t the transfer portal pretty much drain dry any good small school talent before their senior year?

 

[Eeyore]

Zareon Hayes was a monster in the Legacy Bowl. He was invited to Broncos camp. I'm surprised that he didn't get drafted.

 

[Sun Wukong]

I think a lot of people don't understand how radically the landscape of college football has changed in a very short period of time, and how far HBCU's have fallen from where they used to be because of it.

 

[Outbackjack]

It does seem odd that not a SINGLE player in the entirety of the HBCU system was worth a draft selection to a team. Not claiming that there is anything nefarious going on, just agree that it's weird.

Well, 99.9% of the time if they are on a HBCU team, it’s because they aren’t good/talented enough to be at a Power 5. Or the next level. I’m not that surprised by it.

 

[JeffODW]

What's the percentage of black/white athletes drafted? I would venture to say it's like 85% black or better. Nothing to see here.

Well, to be fair, if a stud freshman ends up at an HCBU and blows the roof off, he is likely chasing NIL money the next year. Same for good players in the mid-majors. If they are NFL caliber…

Doug Williams is implying, without directly trying to offend the NCAA, that college football at HBCU schools is suffering. The HBCU Greek life, along with the athletic programs, are very important for cultural identity of a large group of people in the United States. The HBCU football teams have become endangered by the NCAA transfer portal.
Going forward the most talented student athletes at HBCUs are going to have to choose between remaining at a university that can provide unmatched education, self-esteem, and social connections, or transferring to a university with BCS prominence to better showcase their talent and strive for financial security in the NFL someday.

He’s a strong advocate for the HBCU Legacy bowl, and those students that choose to spend their careers in these programs as he did at Grambling, but the current NCAA transfer portal is marginalizing that important sports outlet for these black student athletes at HBCUs.

 

[ndcc]

Doug Williams is implying, without directly trying to offend the NCAA, that college football at HBCU schools is suffering. The HBCU Greek life, along with the athletic programs, are very important for cultural identity of a large group of people in the United States. The HBCU football teams have become endangered by the NCAA transfer portal.
Going forward the most talented student athletes at HBCUs are going to have to choose between remaining at a university that can provide unmatched education, self-esteem, and social connections, or transferring to a university with BCS prominence to better showcase their talent and strive for financial security in the NFL someday.

He’s a strong advocate for the HBCU Legacy bowl, and those students that choose to spend their careers in these programs as he did at Grambling, but the current NCAA transfer portal is marginalizing that important sports outlet for these black student athletes at HBCUs.

Some could taken the thoughts you articulated above and totally botched the presentation.

You DID NOT.

It’s a somewhat sensitive issue, and you addressed it in a way that others would do well to emulate. I believe your remarks should be forwarded to cognizant authorities.

Masterful. Well done!

IMO, it deserves

 

[WxM]

Isaiah Major signed with the Saints as a UDFA - at 6'1 230, he's rangy and agile, and lined up mainly at the Sam linebacker position. He saw some snaps at safety and even nickel back. He's described as deeply knowledgeable, rarely out of position, and a sure tackler. He was the 2023 SWAC defensive player of the year and was a finalist for the FCS defensive player of the year award. Do I feel he deserved to be drafted? Sure, but I watched all seven rounds go by and a reasonably highly-rated LB from a P5 school (Curtis Jacobs, Penn State) didn't get drafted, and his tape and reports read similarly. This could just have been a year where the strongest recruits were in loaded positions - or deprioritized ones.

He signed a deal to try out for three days at rookie mini-camp. That's it.