HBCU Legacy Bowl: Creating Opportunity 5 Years Later | Impact & Future

In its fifth season, the HBCU Legacy Bowl continues to create NFL opportunities for draft-eligible HBCU football players. But is the league drafting enough HBCU talent?

2025 Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl | CREDIT: HBCU Legacy Bowl

Five years ago, two Grambling State legends stopped waiting for the NFL to act and took matters into their own hands.

Instead of complaining about the lack of HBCU draft picks, Doug Williams and James “Shack” Harris built a platform.

The Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl was created to highlight draft-eligible HBCU football players who are often overlooked by NFL decision-makers. What began as an idea is now in its fifth season, with visible results connecting directly to its mission.

The mission has never been complicated: exposure, access, opportunity.

Yet as the event has grown, the question persists: Is the NFL truly moving the needle?

James "Shack" Harris speaking at the Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl press conference with Doug Williams (left) sitting. | Credit: Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl

Building the HBCU Legacy Bowl Stage

The HBCU Legacy Bowl was never just a ceremonial all-star game. Williams and Harris partnered with the NFL, Allstate, the New Orleans Saints, and other important groups to give the event real credibility. A yearly national broadcast on NFL Network, with Steve Wyche, Buck Brooks, and Charles Davis, helped raise the platform above simple symbolic support.

For many players, it marked the first time their names, faces, and measurable traits were evaluated in a fully professional environment.

The difference between being overlooked and being evaluated can determine a career.

Feb 25, 2023; New Orleans, LA, USA; Team Robinson wide receiver Xavier Smith (19) receives offensive MVP trophy from former NFL quarterback Doug Williams and Team Robinson defensive lineman Jason Dumas (1) receives defensive MVP trophy from former NFL cornerback Mel Blount after the game of the HBCU Legacy Bowl at Yulman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Proof It Can Work

Consider Xavier Smith.

The former Florida A&M standout was named Offensive MVP of the 2023 Legacy Bowl. He later signed with the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent and developed into a wide receiver and return specialist under head coach Sean McVay, catching passes from quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Smith’s journey is exactly what the Legacy Bowl aims to create: turning visibility into opportunity.

November 9, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Xavier Smith (19) after the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

He is not alone.

Morgan State defensive tackle Elijah Williams impressed during his week of practices and interviews at the Legacy Bowl, which helped him sign with the Minnesota Vikings. His work in training camp and preseason earned him a spot on the 53-man roster, a goal every undrafted rookie hopes to reach.

That matters.

Consequently, making a roster from an HBCU program is once again becoming a pathway, not just an anomaly.

Dec 7, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Rams cornerback Cobie Durant (14) celebrates after defeating the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

HBCU Athlete's Draft Reality

However, alongside these successes, optimism must be balanced with reality.

Since the Legacy Bowl’s debut in 2022, only six HBCU players have been selected in the NFL Draft:

2022 DRAFT

• Joshua Williams (Fayetteville State) – Kansas City
• Cobie Durant (South Carolina State) – Rams
• James Houston IV (Jackson State) – Detroit
• Ja’Tyre Carter (Southern) – Chicago

Dec 1, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden (29) warms up before a game against the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

2023 DRAFT

• Isaiah Bolden (Jackson State) – New England

2025 DRAFT

• Carson Vinson (Alabama A&M) – Baltimore

Six players across multiple draft cycles in a league that selects over 250 prospects annually.  Some could consider this as progress?  Which is debatable at best.  

Aug 16, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys linebacker Darius Harris (47) and Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Carson Vinson (71) in action during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Ravens at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Adding to the challenge, in 2026, no HBCU player was invited to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine.

Despite progress, the NFL remains cautious about using a draft pick on HBCU prospects. The Legacy Bowl has improved access, but it has not fully changed long-standing scouting habits or the way teams weigh risks.

This is exactly why the event still matters.

Oct 23, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (97) gets pressure on Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

HBCU Players Beyond Draft Weekend

Draft picks, after all, tell only part of the story.

When the 2025-26 NFL season opened, 23 former HBCU players were on 53-man rosters. Among them were established contributors such as:

• Javon Hargrave (South Carolina State)
• Cobie Durant (South Carolina State)
• Grover Stewart (Albany State)

Take Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt as an example. He started at Alabama State before transferring and ran for 805 yards and eight touchdowns in the 2025-26 season. His story shows that coming from an HBCU does not limit a player’s professional future.

Ultimately, talent has never been the issue.

Instead, the evaluation process has been the main barrier.

The Interview Room Is Just as Important

Often, one of the most overlooked parts of the Legacy Bowl is not what happens during the game, but after it ends.

Williams and Harris understood that the scouting combine environment is about more than 40-yard dash times. Interviews, whiteboard sessions, and informal conversations can determine whether a prospect earns a camp invite or disappears from a board.

At the Legacy Bowl, players meet representatives from the NFL, CFL, UFL, and international leagues. Defensive back Rob McDaniel of Jackson State reportedly connected with more than 20 teams during the HBCU Legacy Bowl week, arranged one-on-one interviews, and eventually signed with the Washington Commanders as an undrafted free agent.

For HBCU prospects, those meetings are not routine. They are transformative.

Every handshake is a résumé.  Every practice rep is an audition.

The Larger Meaning of the HBCU Legacy Bowl

Five years in, the HBCU Legacy Bowl has accomplished what it set out to do: it has created structure around opportunity.

It has not guaranteed draft selections, forced front offices to change overnight, or rewritten scouting traditions.

But it has eliminated excuses.

Decision-makers can no longer claim they “didn’t see” the players.

They saw, measured, and interviewed them.

Now, the burden shifts back.

HBCU Legacy Bowl | Credit: NFL

Opportunity Was Always the Point

When Williams and Harris launched the event, they were channeling the philosophy of their legendary mentor and coach, Eddie G. Robinson.

“All they need is an opportunity.”

That quote has echoed across generations of HBCU athletes. It remains just as relevant today.

The HBCU Legacy Bowl is not just about nostalgia. It is a way to address and correct decades of underexposure.

And while six draft picks in four years may not look great on paper, the ripple effects are larger than numbers suggest.

Questions remain: Are more scouts visiting campuses? Are agents investing time? Do players trust that the path is real?

Opportunity changes belief, which in turn changes preparation, and preparation changes outcomes.

The HBCU Legacy Bowl should never be considered a novelty.  Today, it stands as an institution that continues to push the league forward, deliberately, persistently, unapologetically.

For every young man stepping onto the field this week, the message is clear: take full advantage of this chance—show your talent, embrace the moment, and actively position yourself to be noticed. Use the Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl as your platform to turn opportunity into real achievement. Take this as your next step and prove you belong.

Five years later, the HBCU Legacy Bowl has proven that talent was never the issue — access was and in most cases, is. As Coach Rob once said about Doug Williams, “All he needs is an opportunity.” For dozens of young men, that opportunity is now.

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