Deion Sanders is disappointed and ashamed of the NFL franchises taking just one HBCU player in the 2023 NFL draft. How many players from HBCUs was Deion expecting the franchises to take?
The Daily Mail got more;
Deion Sanders has bizarrely criticized all-but-one of the NFL’s franchises after the New England Patriots were the only organization to draft a player from an HBCU school.
Sanders, who left his coaching position at Jackson State – incidentally an HBCU – for the University of Colorado‘s football program in December, said he was ‘ashamed’ following the conclusion of the NFL Draft.
New England drafted one of Sanders’ former players, Isaiah Bolden, out of Jackson State with the No. 245 overall pick. He was the lone player from a Historically Black College and University to be selected.
‘So proud [of] you @isaiahbolden23 you deserved to be drafted much higher but I’m truly proud of u,’ Sanders wrote Saturday night.
‘I know how much u want this. I’m ashamed of the 31 other @nfl teams that couldn’t find draft value in ALL of the talented HBCU players & we had 3 more draft worthy players at JSU.’
Sanders’ take could be viewed to be ostensibly hypocritical given his defection to the highly-publicized and more competitive Pac-12 conference. After bringing an unprecedented level of exposure to Jackson State and HBCU football, Sanders left the Mississippi school for the Buffaloes program and the opportunity to prove himself in a Power Five conference.
He signed a five-year, $29.5million contract with the Buffaloes – with further incentives included. With him, Sanders took five-star corner/wide receiver Travis Hunter, 2022’s No. 1 college football recruit, who he had originally brought to Jackson. Seven JSU players entered the transfer portal and committed to Colorado, with several members of staff leaving the HBCU school to follow Sanders.
‘Never once did I say they’re gonna put a tombstone with my name on it at Jackson State,’ Sanders said in December, following his appointment in Boulder. ‘But when I don’t fit into someone else’s plan and purpose, that is ridiculed… You just forgot about my plan, and God’s plan. That’s where the dysfunction comes.’
While few players have been drafted out of Historically Black Colleges – five in the last two seasons – around 70 percent of the league’s players are black. Three black quarterbacks were taken in the top four picks, while 48 of the players drafted in the first two rounds (63 picks) were of African-American descent.
Sanders’ approach has been one of ruthlessness in the months leading up to Colorado’s first season under his reign. Since taking over, 46 scholarship players have entered the portal — more than any other program in the nation.
It appears that Deion Sanders selected several talented players from Jackson State for the draft, which presents a challenge moving forward. In the competitive world of football, where the NFL is often referred to as “Not For Long,” high school students seeking professional careers may not prioritize attending a Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) when they see universities such as Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, and Clemson producing multiple first-round draft picks.
