Isaiah Land of Florida A&M football and Aubrey Miller, Jr. of Jackson State football have signed NFL contracts after rookie minicamps.
Land, a 6-foot-3, 236 pound EDGE, earned First-Team FCS All-American honors last season. The Florida A&M football star led the FCS with 25.5 tackles for loss and 19 sacks in 12 starts.
Land signed a three-year, $2.7 million contract with the Dallas Cowboys.
Miller, Jr. is a six-foot, 229 pound linebacker who led Jackson State football with 109 tackles and 6.5 sacks. He signed a three-year, $2.705 million contract with the Miami Dolphins. Miller, Jr. said his game is influenced by former Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis.
Only one player from a historically black college or university (HBCU) was taken in this year's NFL Draft, Isaiah Bolden. Bolden will be joined by the Florida A&M football and Jackson State football linebackers this season.
Colorado Buffaloes Head Coach Deion Sanders blasted the NFL recently over its lack of HBCU draft picks. Sanders coached Jackson State football last season. While Florida A&M football and Jackson State football didn't have a single player taken in this year's draft, Sanders is convinced others were deserving.
“So proud is you Isaiah Bolden. You deserved to be drafted much higher but I'm truly proud of [yo]u,” Sanders said. “I know how much [yo]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 [and] we had 3 more draft worthy players at JSU,” Sanders wrote on Twitter
The Florida A&M football and Jackson State football teams will face off on September 3 of this year. It will be the Rattlers' first game and the Tigers' second game of the season. Thomas “T.C.” Taylor will coach Jackson State.
Sanders signed a five-year, $30 million deal to coach Colorado in the offseason.
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