The Shrine Bowl 1000, a watchlist of eligible players for the 2024 East vs. West Shrine Bowl and 2024 NFL Draft, was recently released, and there was big representation of HBCU players. In total, eight players from HBCU football teams made the Shrine Bowl 1000.

Among those featured are Sundiata Anderson (Grambling State), Kardell Thomas (Florida A&M), Karon Prunty (North Carolina A&T), Davius Richard (North Carolina Central), Khalil Baker (North Carolina Central), Wille Drew (Virginia State University), Jeblonki Green JR. (South Carolina State) and Anim Dankwah (Howard). North Carolina Central leads all HBCU teams with two players featured on the watchlist.

In the past few years, we have seen more and more talented players decide to take their talents to an HBCU instead of a bigger, more traditional football university. It has helped the growth and exposure for these smaller schools tremendously.

The biggest news in that regard came when Travis Hunter, the top overall prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, decided to commit to Jackson State and play for Coach Deion Sanders. Everybody expected Hunter to commit to Florida State, but he shocked the college football landscape. Since then, both Hunter and Coach Prime have moved on to Colorado, but the decision from Hunter will continue to have a big impact on the decision process of recruits in the future.

The 2024 East-West Shrine Bowl will take place on February 1st, 2024. Last year's game was at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, but this year's location will be a little bit less prestigious, taking place at the Dallas Cowboys' facilities in Frisco, TX.