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Jackson State Coach Deion Sanders blasts NFL for overlooking HBCU players in 2021 draft

Updated: Aug 20, 2021

Written for The Link Entertainment by


Coach Deion Sanders was disappointed that not one player from an Historically Black College or University (HBCU) qualified for the 2021 NFL Draft.


“Our kids are being neglected and rejected” expressed Sanders through an Instagram post.


Sanders tagged the NFL and its network, along with CBS Sports, NBC, ABC, TV One, the NBA on TNT, Fox Sports, and others.


Sanders also retweeted The Undefeated’s tweet to show his disappointment in this year’s draft stating, “There were 259 picks in the 2021 #NFLDraft – not a single draft pick featured a player from an HBCU.”


“We should be right there,” the Jackson State University coach said, USA Today reported. “We shouldn’t have a separate combine. That doesn’t make sense to have a separate combine. I was just trying to get us in, but now that I’m involved, and I’m in it, we don’t want separate. We want together.”


Some fans expressed that the NFL picks based on stats and performance where HBCU colleges aren’t in any of the big conferences and it’s ultimately hard to judge performance when someone is playing for a team such as Alabama vs a HBCU.


But then again, there have been plenty of NFL great pro bowlers and even hall of famers who played at a HBCU making it so there shouldn’t be an excuse for the NFL not to draft from HBCUs.


Although zero HBCU players were drafted in the NFL this year, some have signed with teams as UDFAs, according to The Undefeated.


“HBCUs are a bridge to equality,” said Pro Bowl MVP James “Shack” Harris in the past.


Recently, the NFL officially announced the HBCU Legacy Bowl that will debut February 2022. The HBCU Legacy Bowl is said to give better opportunity and exposure for HBCU players and coaches. This will hopefully increase the chances of more HBCU players to be a part of future NFL Drafts.


The Baylor Bears men’s basketball team wins their first NCAA 2021 Championship title

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On Monday night April 5th, Baylor took down Gonzaga 86-70 in the NCAA National Championship game, winning their first national title in school history.


The Baylor and Gonzaga game was definitely worth the wait with 16.92 million people watching.


“First and foremost, I want to thank God for blessing us with this opportunity tonight,” said Baylor coach Scott Drew. “I know the guys have worked really hard. And I’m so happy they get a chance to celebrate now. At the same time, I feel for Coach [Mark] Few and his team because they’re such class acts. And Coach Few is a Hall of Fame coach and an unbelievable guy. A better person than he is a coach. And you hate when friends aren’t feeling good.”


This NCAA game was the game to see due to both Baylor and Gonzaga were looking to win their first championship Monday night. Before Monday’s night game, the closest Baylor came to winning a title was in 1948 when the team played against Kentucky.


The entire game was making history left and right. College football fans praised the work of Gonzaga along the way especially after freshman Jalen Suggs hit a half court shot that sent them to the NCAA title game. Gonzaga also became the first undefeated team since Indiana State in 1979 to enter the championship game and lose.


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The SEC reprimands and fines Florida Coach Dan Mullen for role in Florida vs. Missouri brawl


Florida Gators Coach Dan Mullen has been fined $25,000 for charging the field and inciting a halftime brawl between his Florida Gators and visiting team, Missouri and also issued a reprimand for violating SEC by-laws governing sportsmanship.


The brawl began after Missouri’s Trajan Jeffcoat delivered a late hit to Florida’s quarterback Kyle Trask on the final play of the first half. The final play ended up being incomplete and Trask landed hard on his back where Trask’s linemen came to his defense after the play took place. 


League officials found Mullen added fuel to the fire rather  than extinguish a tense situation against Missouri that led to a brawl on Saturday night’s game.


 “Everyone involved is responsible for meeting sportsmanship standards throughout each game. Running on the field to confront a game official, the gathering of teams in an on-field confrontation and student-athletes throwing punches are all disappointing at any time, but even more so as we work to support healthy competition during a pandemic,” stated SEC commissioner Greg Sankey


Following the altercation, Florida defensive lineman Zachary Carter and linebacker Antwuan Powell were ejected for the remainder of the game for fighting, and Missouri’s outside linebacker Tre Williams was ejected for a flagrant unsportsmanlike conduct foul.


According to NCAA Football Playing Rule 9.5.1.b., ejections for fighting carry an automatic half-game suspension for the following game, which will result in Carter and Powell serving suspensions for the first half of Florida’s game against Georgia in Jacksonville on Saturday.


Due to Florida’s ejections, a loss against Georgia on Saturday would be crucial to their standing in the SEC rankings.

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