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Grambling head football coach Hue Jackson made a bold claim about HBCU football coaches and potential Power Five opportunities per a report by HBCU Sports. On Monday, he spoke about the talent of his coaching peers at the black college level, saying that all they need is an opportunity at the next level to show that they can build a program.
“They just need the opportunity, I think these guys do a great job of recruiting. I think they do a good job of preparing their teams.”
Jackson's comments are noteworthy, as he's coached in the NFL as well as at the FBS level before accepting the opportunity to lead the Tigers. Before spending nearly two decades in the NFL with various teams, including the Cleveland Browns, Jackson worked as a Power 5 assistant for six seasons at Arizona State and USC. Jackson knows what it takes to be on the next level. But, the opportunities for HBCU coaches to go to that level aren't often there.
Willie Jefferies made history as the first African-American head coach to lead a program at the Division I-A level (now called FBS) when he became head coach at Wichita State after a successful first stint at South Carolina State from 1979-1983. Alcorn State's Jay Hopsin achieved massive success for the Braves as head coach, even leading them to the 2015 Celebration Bowl against North Carolina A&T, before leaving to coach at FBS program Southern Mississippi in 2016. But, other than Deion Sanders in his move to Colorado, no other HBCU head coaches have received the call.
Nevertheless, Jackson's comments are a ringing endorsement of the coaching talent in the HBCU ranks. And, while we don't want to see any HBCU coaches leaving their programs, maybe one of the members of the black college coaching fraternity will get the opportunity to represent HBCU football at the next level one day.
