Buck Buchanan of Grambling put the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) on the pro football map when the Kansas City Chiefs selected him with the first overall pick of the 1963 AFL draft.
Eight years later, the Dallas Cowboys selected Ed “Too Tall” Jones of Tennessee State with the first overall pick of an NFL draft. HBCU products would be selected with the third (Steve McNair), fourth (Walter Payton), sixth (Robert Brazile) and 10th (Isiah Robertson) overall picks of future drafts. Eleven HBCU players were selected to the NFL’s 100th anniversary team and 35 alums are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Deacon Jones invented the term “sack” and ranks third all-time on the NFL’s all-time sack list with 173 ½. There are eight other HBCU products in the NFL’s 100-sack club: Michael Strahan (141 1/2), Richard Dent (137 1/2), Coy Bacon (130 1/2), Claude Humphrey (130), Robert Mathis (123), Jones (106), Elvin Bethea (105) and Tony McGee (102). Like Jones, Strahan, Dent, Humphrey and Bethea have busts in the Hall of Fame.
An all-time HBCU NFL team would start with a former NFL MVP at quarterback (McNair) and feature two of the most prolific offensive skill player in history, Payton and Jerry Rice. Fourteen schools would be represented on this 25-player squad – whose members amassed 159 Pro Bowl appearances. Seventeen of the players are in the Hall of Fame and 11 were named to the NFL’s 100th anniversary team.
Here is the all-time HBCU NFL team:
QB—Steve McNair, Alcorn State. 3 Pro Bowls, 2003 NFL MVP.
HB—Walter Payton, Jackson State. Hall of Fame, NFL’s 100th anniversary team.
FB—Marion Motley, South Carolina State. Hall of Fame, NFL’s 100th anniversary team.
WR—Jerry Rice, Mississippi Valley State. Hall of Fame, NFL’s 100th anniversary team.
WR—Bob Hayes, Florida A&M. Hall of Fame. 4 Pro Bowls. Olympic gold medalist.
TE—Shannon Sharpe, Savannah State. Hall of Fame. 8 Pro Bowls, 3 Super Bowl rings.
T—Rosey Brown, Morgan State. Hall of Fame, NFL’s 100th anniversary team.
T—Art Shell, Maryland Eastern Shore. Hall of Fame, NFL’s 100th anniversary team.
G—Larry Little, Bethune-Cookman. Hall of Fame. 6 Pro Bowls, 2 Super Bowl rings.
G—Nate Newton, Florida A&M. 6 Pro Bowls, 3 Super Bowl rings.
C—Wally Williams, Florida A&M. 10 seasons, 96 career starts.
DE—Deacon Jones, Mississippi Valley State. Hall of Fame, NFL’s 100th anniversary team.
DE—Richard Dent, Tennessee State. Hall of Fame. 4 Pro Bowls, 138 career sacks.
DT—Buck Buchanan, Grambling. Hall of Fame, NFL’s 100th anniversary team.
DT—Roger Brown, Maryland Eastern Shore. 6 Pro Bowls, Detroit Lions’ all-time team.
OLB—Robert Brazile, Jackson State. Hall of Fame. 7 Pro Bowls, 1970s NFL all-decade team.
MLB—Willie Lanier, Morgan State. Hall of Fame, NFL’s 100th anniversary team.
OLB—Isiah Robertson, Southern. 6 Pro Bowls, 1971 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
CB—Mel Blount, Southern. Hall of Fame, NFL’s 100th anniversary team.
CB—Willie Brown, Grambling. Hall of Fame, NFL’s 100th anniversary team.
S—Ken Houston, Prairie View. Hall of Fame, NFL’s 100th anniversary team.
S—Donnie Shell, South Carolina State. Hall of Fame. 5 Pro Bowls, 51 career interceptions.
P—Greg Coleman, Florida A&M. 12 seasons, 820 career punts, 40.6-yard average
KR—Lemar Parrish, Lincoln. 8 Pro Bowls, 4 kickoff and 1 punt return for touchdowns
ST—Albert Lewis, Grambling. 4 Pro Bowls, blocked 11 career kicks.
