There are over 100 academic institutions that are identified by the US Department of Education as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). But when it comes to football, three stand out:

• Grambling State University is located in northern Louisiana in the city of Grambling. Prominent alumni include four Hall of Famers — Willie Davis, Willie Brown, Buck Buchanan, and Charlie Joiner, along with great players like Everson Walls, Albert Lewis, Gary Johnson, Ernie Ladd, Tank Younger, and Doug Williams.  There have been a record 121 Tigers from Grambling State drafted.

• Tennessee State University is located in Nashville, Tennessee. More draft value has been spent on TSU Tigers than on any other HBCU. Prominent alumni include Hall of Famers Richard Dent and Claude Humphrey.  In the pros, these players have not had the success of the Grambling players, but in terms of draft value, they can’t be topped: Too Tall Jones was selected first overall, Humphrey and Waymond Bryant were top-5 picks, and Dan Williams, Vern Holland, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Jim Marsalis, and Eldridge Dickey were all top-25 picks.  A whopping 117 players from TSU were drafted.

• Jackson State is located in Jackson, Mississippi, about halfway in between New Orleans and Memphis. The JSU Tigers have four Hall of Famers in Walter Payton, Jackie Slater, Lem Barney, and Robert Brazile.  Jackson State is also home to two of the best receivers not in the Hall of Fame: Jaguars great Jimmy Smith and Harold Jackson, who comfortably led all players in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns in the 1970s.  Coy Bacon, Wilbert Montgomery, and Leon Gray all went to Jackson State, among other stars, helping the school provide more AV in the pros than any other HBCU. There have been 101 players from JSU drafted by the NFL.

A fourth school, Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, is in its own tier as the 4th most prominent HBCU when it comes to NFL success.  There have been 78 Jaguars drafted and only one — Isiah Robertson — was selected in the first round.  So it hasn’t had quite the success as Grambling, Tennessee State, or Jackson State at putting players into the pros. But the Jaguars sure have been successful once they got there (including Robertson, a fringe HOF candidate). Two Hall of Fame cornerbacks, Mel Blount and Aeneas Williams, were drafted in the third round, while WR Harold Carmichael was a 7th round pick.  And one of the best defensive ends during his prime was Broncos legend Rich “Tomstone” Jackson, was also a Jaguar.

Below is the draft data from all of the HBCUs. This shows the number of draft picks used on such players, the draft value used on them, and the career AV produced in the NFL by those players. Note that this does not include undrafted players.

Best Drafts

In terms of draft capital used, the best class ever belongs to the TSU Tigers. In 1974, Tennessee State had Too Tall Jones go first overall, Waymond Bryant drafted with the 4th pick, and then three second rounders in Greg Kindle, John Holland, and Carl Wafer. That was following a perfect 1973 season.

In 1971, Grambling had Frank Lewis and Richard Harris in the top 10, along with three second round picks in Sam Holden, Scott Lewis, and Virgil Robinson.

Four years later, JSU had two of the top six picks in Walter Payton and Robert Brazile.

In 1968, Claude Humphrey was the 3rd pick and Eldridge Dickey went at the end of the first round, in addition to 4th rounder John Robinson.

Even as late as 1978, Tennessee State still had two second rounders (Sylvester Hicks and Stan Johnson) and then three fourth round picks (Danny Johnson, Dwight Wheeler, and Homer Elias).

Best Draft Classes

In terms of actual best draft classes in terms of production, it’s hard to top Jackson State’s 1975 class, which gave us Walter Payton, Robert Brazile, and Rickey Young.

In 1970, Southern provided Mel Blount, Ken Ellis, and Alden Roche.

The next year, Southern produced Isiah Robertson and Harold Carmichael.

Hall of Famers

There are 33 players from HBCUs currently in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which makes up 11% of all players currently in Canton. Those players are: John Stallworth (Alabama A&M), Larry Little (Bethune-Cookman), Emmitt Thomas (Bishop), Bob Hayes (Florida A&M), Rayfield Wright (Fort Valley State), Willie Brown (Grambling State), Buck Buchanan (Grambling State), Willie Davis (Grambling State), Charlie Joiner (Grambling State), Jackie Slater (Jackson State), Lem Barney (Jackson State), Robert Brazile (Jackson State), Walter Payton (Jackson State), Art Shell (Maryland Eastern Shore), Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State), Len Ford (Morgan State), Rosey Brown (Morgan State), Leroy Kelly (Morgan State), Willie Lanier (Morgan State), Elvin Bethea (North Carolina A&T), Ken Houston (Prairie View A&M), Shannon Sharpe (Savannah State), Marion Motley (South Carolina State), Donnie Shell (South Carolina State), Deacon Jones (Mississippi Valley State and South Carolina State), Harry Carson (South Carolina State), Harold Carmichael (Southern), Mel Blount (Southern), Aeneas Williams (Southern), Richard Dent (Tennessee State), Claude Humphrey (Tennessee State), Winston Hill (Texas Southern), and Michael Strahan (Texas Southern). That’s 7 defensive backs, 7 defensive ends, 5 wide receivers, 5 offensive tackles, 3 linebackers, 3 running backs, and 1 each at tight end, guard, and defensive tackle.

Six of them were undrafted: Bethune-Cookman’s Larry Little, Bishop’s Emmitt Thomas, Grambling’s Willie Brown, Morgan State’s Len Ford ^[1]Who did spend most of his college career at Michigan., and South Carolina State’s Marion Motley ^[2]Who spent most of his college career at Nevada. and Donnie Shell.

The height of Hall of Famers and HBCUs came in 1976 and 1977, when there were a whopping 20 active in the NFL.