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The HBCU football season is just around the corner, and this year truly has the potential to be special. The addition of Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson as HBCU coaches will undoubtedly add a new level of intrigue to the MEAC and potentially the Celebration Bowl.
With an array of amazing coaches, intriguing out-of-conference matchups, and an influx of incredibly talented players transferring into FCS and Division II HBCUs, I believe we are in for a historic season of HBCU football. Every week promises nonstop, must-watch games, and clear-cut, definitive contenders may not emerge until well into the end of the season.
From the many exciting games on the schedule for the next few months, I've selected five that I believe are absolute must-watches this season. While these aren't the only essential games, I aimed to represent all four HBCU conferences, as well as one HBCU in a non-HBCU conference. I also wanted a few of my picks to be under-the-radar matchups that I believe will be really promising and have strong storylines leading into them.
This is my personal list of games I'm most looking forward to this year.
5. Johnson C. Smith vs. Valdosta State
When Valdosta State, under former head coach Tremaine Jackson, reached the Division II National Championship and lost to Ferris State, Jackson then departed Valdosta State to become the head coach at Prairie View A&M University, a team that will appear on this list momentarily.
Valdosta State has enjoyed a sustained level of dominance against HBCUs. Only three HBCUs have beaten Valdosta State in their 40-plus years of playing football: Albany State, Fort Valley State, and Virginia Union. Albany State and Fort Valley State have secured a couple of wins over Valdosta State in recent years.
Albany State defeated Valdosta in former head coach Gabe Giardina's first game in 2017. Additionally, Virginia Union’s Jada Byers had a record-setting outing against Valdosta State in 2022, out-gaining Valdosta State's running backs by himself en route to a high-scoring 45-40 win over the Blazers. He ran finished the game with 319 rushing yards, Valdosta's running backs finished with 202!
I would love to see Johnson C. Smith become the fourth HBCU program to notch a win over this perennial Division II power. Johnson C. Smith enters the season with an amazing roster. They have successfully added a wealth of talent to an already strong team that was arguably one of the breakout stories of last year. Maurice Flowers, returning to his alma mater, led Johnson C. Smith on a historic run of dominance in the CIAA, which was only derailed at the end of the season. I believe that in his second year, Maurice Flowers has established a great foundation of success that Johnson C. Smith can build upon this year with all their new talent.
As Valdosta State navigates this transition period after Tremaine Jackson's departure, I believe they are ripe for an upset. I think Johnson C. Smith can truly make an impression on the HBCU football world, especially the CIAA, by defeating Valdosta State, potentially even with a dominant win given the talent they possess on both sides of the ball. I honestly believe the Golden Bulls can win this game and make history by becoming the fourth HBCU to beat Valdosta State.
4. South Carolina State vs. North Carolina A&T
North Carolina A&T, after years of success in the MEAC and winning four Celebration Bowls, has hit a dry spell with its football program, winning only two games in the past two seasons. After firing former North Carolina A&T head coach Vincent Brown, the Aggies quickly hired Shawn Gibbs from Fort Valley State University.
Shawn Gibbs achieved immense success during his tenure at Fort Valley State University, compiling a 22-9 overall record and a 17-6 mark in the conference. In 2023, he secured a victory in the Florida Beach Bowl against Johnson C. Smith University. However, one team Shawn Gibbs was never able to solve during his time at Fort Valley State University was Benedict College.
Even though Gibbs's team lost two straight games against perennial Fort Valley rival Albany State University, he was able to beat Albany State University in 2022, his first season. He also defeated Tuskegee in his first season. He found a level of success against all the perennial powers in the SIAC, except for Miles College, which he never coached against.
But in his two meetings with Chennis Berry, he never managed to secure a win. Specifically, Chennis Berry and Benedict College earned resounding victories against his Fort Valley State University teams. Benedict was scheduled as Fort Valley State's homecoming opponent in 2022 and left with a 45-13 victory. In a nationally televised ESPN2 matchup in 2023, Fort Valley visited Benedict and lost 48-6.
After his success at Benedict College, Chennis Berry ultimately went on to become the coach of South Carolina State. He eventually led the team to a MEAC championship and a Celebration Bowl appearance in his first season. On his path to dominance in the MEAC and a Celebration Bowl appearance, Fort Valley State traveled to Orangeburg to play South Carolina State and lost 30-3. Thus far in his coaching career, Shawn Gibbs has suffered three straight blowout losses to Chennis Berry.
This is precisely why I am excited to see North Carolina A&T versus South Carolina State. We can honestly attribute some of the losses Shawn Gibbs took in his career to resource disparities. Of course, Fort Valley State was playing a Division I opponent in South Carolina State. But I believe that with Benedict, Chennis Berry had more resources to recruit talented high school players and transfers to quickly bolster his roster, leading to back-to-back championships in the SIAC.
Now, Gibbs is at North Carolina A&T, and he has a plethora of resources and connections in North Carolina, as well as plenty of experience as a head coach as he heads into this new position. I believe that Gibbs and the recruiting he's done have built a team that can possibly contend against South Carolina State. So, I'm interested to see what occurs in this game.
3. Prairie View A&M vs. Southern University
Earlier, I spoke about Tremaine Jackson becoming the head coach of the Prairie View A&M Panthers. Jackson has already made noise in his return to the SWAC as a coach. He assembled the top recruiting class in the conference and has made his presence felt with several offseason comments that have driven many HBCU media cycles.
His time at Valdosta State showed us that he is a tremendous coach who knows how to develop his players. I think his philosophy will transition well to Prairie View A&M, and Prairie View will be a team that shocks a lot of the HBCU football fandom this season.
I believe that Prairie View A&M will enter the Southern University game undefeated in the SWAC, having beaten Texas Southern, Grambling, and Alcorn State heading into Baton Rouge against Southern. Meanwhile, I believe that Southern will also fare well in their early conference slate as they look to repeat as SWAC West Champions. I believe that this game will likely be the de facto SWAC West Championship game, and whoever wins will end up booking a trip to the SWAC Championship.
Terrence Graves clearly figured something out in his first season with the Jaguars, as he led the team to the SWAC Championship against Jackson State. I believe Southern University had a great offseason of recruiting, and I think the biggest name to look out for is former LSU running back Trey Holly joining the team. I think Holly can move up the depth chart quickly, and he's shown himself to be an adept running back with his historic high school run that led him to being a four-star recruit who drew the eye of LSU.
I believe that Southern is once again going to be a problem in the division, and the Prairie View A&M and Southern University clash will be pivotal in determining the outcome of the SWAC leading into December. While this is only my early-season prediction, I see many indicators that this will ultimately be what the SWAC West race comes down to. With this game being nationally televised via HBCU Go, I believe it will draw the eye of a lot of the HBCU football fandom and can possibly turn out to be a great game.
2. Clark Atlanta vs. Miles College
We know that Miles College is going to be drastically different coming into this season. Former head coach Sam Shade, who led Miles College back to championship glory last season, departed the program to become the head coach of Alabama A&M. Now, former University of Alabama star Chris Goode is the head coach of Miles College.
Goode will have to prove that he can continue the championship pedigree that Miles College established and build on the success that Sam Shade started to accrue in his three seasons with the Golden Bears. They won't be world-beaters, but I believe that Miles College still has some very talented players on their roster, and I believe that they will be above the fray in the SIAC and dangerous to play against any given Saturday.
Meanwhile, Clark Atlanta will be in year two under head coach Teddy Keaton. Keaton led the Panthers on a resounding run to the SIAC Championship last year. With another recruiting class under his belt, I believe that Clark Atlanta will once again prove to be formidable in the conference and should enter this season as de facto favorites along with Albany State.
I believe that Keaton, as well as his Clark Atlanta squad, will certainly want to get payback for two really tough losses against Miles College last season. Miles College came to Clark Atlanta's homecoming and beat them 49-28. Then, in the SIAC Championship just a few weeks later, Miles College beat Clark Atlanta 53-25. I think that this would be the perfect time for Clark Atlanta to get revenge and also demonstrate that they will be once again formidable in the conference.
1. Norfolk State vs. Delaware State at Lincoln Financial Field
When DeSean Jackson was announced as the head coach of Delaware State, the first thing I thought about was, “When is his first game against each Michael Vick?” I think that regardless of the records of Norfolk State and Delaware State heading into Lincoln Financial Field, this matchup will be a seminal moment in football history. It will punctuate where we are when it comes to college sports, and specifically HBCU football, and former NFL players assuming roles as coaches in this era.
We've seen former NFL players become college coaches before, most notably in HBCU football: Doug Williams leading his alma mater Grambling State, as well as Billy Joe and the success he accumulated with Central State University and Florida A&M from 1981-2004. But this stands to be a different time, post-Deion Sanders' tenure at Jackson State, where we see players with the profile and legacy of Michael Vick, as well as the profound accolades of DeSean Jackson, venture to take on HBCU coaching positions.
While we did see Jackson State play Eddie George's Tennessee State Tigers and also former NFL coach Hue Jackson's Grambling State Tigers during Deion's tenure, Jackson State seemed to be far ahead of both of those teams at that time, and they went on to win resoundingly against both of them.
I think with DeSean Jackson and Michael Vick coming into HBCU football at the same time, they are going to have similar successes and also similar learning curves they'll have to overcome, with both of them being first-time coaches. So, I believe that heading into their October 30th matchup, the game will be very, very evenly matched.
I do believe that Norfolk State will likely have the better record heading into this game, and I think that Michael Vick, in his first season, built a better team around the foundational pieces that stayed with the Spartans following Dawson Odums' departure. But more than what happens on the field, this game will be a great lightning rod of attention for HBCU football and will likely engage an NFL fandom that isn't normally tapped into HBCU football in an amazing way.
Via Jackson's and Vick's popularity, the media attention circulating around this game will be tremendous. I can see Eagles players, such as Jalen Hurts and others, truly embracing this matchup and even showing up and participating in the festivities around the game in some capacity.
I think this moment is bigger than football, and it is the next iteration of the surge of attention and popularity that Deion Sanders brought to HBCU football in his two and a half seasons at Jackson State. I think that whether Norfolk State or Delaware State wins the game, the HBCU community will ultimately win with the earned media that specific game will receive and the amazing moment it will produce.
