When players from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) were shut out from this year’s NFL draft for the first time in over a decade, Hall-of-Famer Deion Sanders – now the head football coach at Jackson State — was appalled.
“NEGLECTED AND REJECTED,” he tweeted.
The caps are his, not mine. And they reflect his outrage that, among 259 players drafted, not one was from an HBCU program. But Sanders wasn’t alone. Plenty of others joined the outcry, including former Grambling State quarterback Doug Williams, the first African-American quarterback to win a Super Bowl.
He called it “a travesty.”
Well, now you can add newly-minted Hall-of-Famer Harold Carmichael to the chorus. A walk-on at Southern University, Carmichael was a four-year starter at wide receiver before the Philadelphia Eagles made him a seventh-round draft pick in 1971 – a year when 55 HBCU players were chosen.
By 2019, however, that number had dwindled to four, and in 2020 it was down to one – or one more than this year.
“It’s very, very troublesome to me to see that happen,” Carmichael said Tuesday on a conference call with the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “Back in the late ‘60s, early ‘70s, a lot of the big-time ballplayers were coming out of the HBCU teams.”
He’s right about that. Walter Payton was one. Mel Blount was another. So was Donnie Shell. And Art Shell, Willie Lanier, Deacon Jones, Willie Davis, Emmitt Thomas, Jackie Slater, Willie Brown, Charlie Joiner … and Harold Carmichael. All played on HBCU teams, and all are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
But that was then, and this is now. And now the number of HBCU players entering the NFL through the draft is down to a trickle, with Tennessee State tackle Lachavious Simmons the last HBCU draft pick. The Chicago Bears chose him in the seventh round of the 2020 draft with the 227th selection.
So what happened? Nobody is certain, though the COVID pandemic that canceled the 2020 season for most HBCU programs is offered as an explanation. Players simply didn’t have an opportunity to showcase their talents.
And that’s a shame because the talent is there. In 2017, for instance, the Houston Texans took Alabama State tackle Tytus Howard with the 23rd pick. One year later the Indianapolis Colts’ made South Carolina State linebacker and future All-Pro Darius Leonard a second-round choice. Moreover, according to the Washington Post, during the 2020 NFL season there were 29 HBCU players who started.
“I was really sad to hear the past couple of weeks about no HBCU players drafted in this year’s draft,” Carmichael said. “There are a lot times when a lot of the guys from HBCU teams fall through the cracks. There are a lot of good football players there, but I don’t think a lot of NFL football teams really respect that.
“They send guys there, but the guys wink at it and they go home, not really putting a lot of focus on the players. I’ve watched a couple of the HBCU games the past season, and you see some good ballplayers there. But people just want to go to the big schools.”
Carmichael didn’t, and look what happened. He’s part of the Hall’s Centennial Class of 2020. He’s also part of a fraternity of HBCU supporters who believe this year’s shutout is more an aberration than a trend and that HBCU rookies will make an impact this season and the years beyond – draft or no draft.
Harold Carmichael
.jpg) Carmichael playing for the Eagles in 1977
|
|||||||
| No. 17 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | September 22, 1949 Jacksonville, Florida, USA |
||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 225 lb (102 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Jacksonville (FL) Raines | ||||||
| College: | Southern | ||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1971 / Round: 7 / Pick: 161 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| As a player: | |||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
| As an administrator: | |||||||
|
|||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
As player
As administrator
|
|||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
|
|||||||
| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||
Lee Harold Carmichael (born September 22, 1949) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles (1971–1983) and one season for the Dallas Cowboys (1984). Carmichael was the Director of Player Development and Alumni for the Eagles from 1998−2014, and a Fan Engagement Liaison from 2014−2015, before retiring again in 2015.
Early years
Carmichael attended William M. Raines High School in Jacksonville, Florida, where he played the trombone in the school’s band. He began playing quarterback on the football team.[1]
He walked-on at Southern University and became a tri-sport athlete. He used his 6’8″ height to play on the basketball team as a center, and threw the javelin and discus for the track and field team. In football, he shifted to playing wide receiver, where he was a four-year starter, although he never led the team in receptions. He received All-conference honors as a senior. He was a teammate of Mel Blount.
In 1989, he was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. In 2004, he was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame. In 2012, he was inducted into the Southwest Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. In 2018, he was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame. In January 2020, he was elected as one of 10 seniors to the Centennial Slate for the Class of 2020 of the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Harold Carmichael Career Highlights
“I love to catch the ball too much to fall back. For me, there’s nothing as great as catching the football. I feel like every time the ball is thrown my way, I’ll do whatever it takes to catch it, even if I have to tear it right out of a defensive back’s hands.”
Class of 2020Enshrinement Headquarters
(Southern University)…6’8”, 225…Drafted in 7th Round (161st overall), 1971 … Key member of Eagles teams that earned four straight playoff appearances, 1978-1981 … Recorded career-high and team record at time with 67 catches for 1,116 yards to lead NFL in 1973 … Registered 40 or more catches in nine straight seasons … Eclipsed 1,000-yard mark three times … Led Eagles in receptions and receiving yardage seven times … Established then-NFL record 127 straight games with a reception (1972-1980) … Career stats: 590 receptions for 8,985 yards, 79 TDs … Named First-Team All-Pro, 1973 … Second-Team All-Pro three times … First-Team All-NFC three times (1973, 1978, 1979) … Selected to four Pro Bowls … Named to NFL’s All-Decade Team of 1970s … Born: September 22, 1949 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Harold Carmichael Philadelphia Eagles & Dallas Cowboys
“I love to catch the ball too much to fall back. For me, there’s nothing as great as catching the football. I feel like every time the ball is thrown my way, I’ll do whatever it takes to catch it, even if I have to tear it right out of a defensive back’s hands.”
Harold Carmichael played 14 seasons in the National Football League. He was a seventh-round pick out of Southern University in the 1971 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles where he spent 13 seasons. His final season in the NFL was spent with the Dallas Cowboys.
During just his third season, Carmichael recorded a career-high and team record at time with 67 catches for 1,116 yards to lead NFL in receptions and receiving yardage in 1973. This included a personal best 12 catches for 187 yards against the St. Louis Cardinals on Oct. 14, 1973.
Carmichael was a key member of Eagles teams that earned four straight playoff appearances from 1978-1981. He scored a career-best 11 touchdown receptions during the 1979 season. Carmichael registered 40 or more catches in nine straight seasons, eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark three times and had 20 games with 100 or more receiving yards during his career. Carmichael led the Eagles in receptions and receiving yardage seven times and established a then-NFL record of 127 straight games with a reception from 1972-1980.
A true leader, Carmichael helped Philadelphia to a division title and the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance in 1980. At the time of his retirement, Carmichael was the Eagles’ all-time leader in games played, consecutive games played, touchdowns, receptions, receiving yards and touchdown receptions.
Carmichael’s career stats include 590 receptions for 8,985 yards and 79 TDs. He was named First-Team All-Pro in 1973, Second-Team All-Pro three times, received First-Team All-NFC three times and Second-Team All-NFC four times. Named to NFL’s All-Decade Team of 1970s, Carmichael was showed as the NFL Man of the Year in 1980 and selected to four Pro Bowls.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Harold Carmichael isn’t sure he would have been drafted under current NFL rules that favor wide receivers
![a close up of a person holding a baseball bat]({"default":{"load":"default","w":"80","h":"45","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AAM7Mqn.img?h=450&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f"},"size3column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"35","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AAM7Mqn.img?h=352&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f"},"size2column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"35","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AAM7Mqn.img?h=352&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f"}})
Eagles legend Harold Carmichael selected to Pro Football Hall of Fame
Harold Carmichael (17) wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles, is shown in 1973.
