Traditional college football powerhouses usually dominate the headlines on National Signing Day. The likes of Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and others usually get a handful of their top targets and sign top-five recruiting classes year in and year out.
This year, though, the biggest recruiting win of the 2022 cycle came from the most unexpected source.
Deion Sanders and Jackson State, an HBCU in Mississippi, pulled off one of the most shocking recruiting coups of all-time, flipping No. 1 overall prospect Travis Hunter from Florida State. Hunter is widely considered to be a generational talent and is projected to play cornerback at the next level, although he has been dominant as a wide receiver at Georgia’s Collins Hill High School, the No. 3 team in the nation, per USA TODAY High School Sports.
HBCUs typically don’t land anything more than three-star recruits, let alone a consensus five-star prospect who is the best in his class. They have sent plenty of players to the NFL, though, including former Jets first-round pick and three-time Pro Bowler Hugh Douglas. Douglas played at Central State University, an NAIA HBCU that now plays at the Division II level. Douglas was selected 16th overall by New York in 1995.
The hulking 6-foot-2, 281-pound Douglas won defensive Rookie of the Year with the Jets before being traded to the Eagles in exchange for draft picks in 1998. Douglas flourished in Philadelphia, developing into a two-time All-Pro and earning trips to the Pro Bowl from 2000-2002.
Douglas beamed with pride over Hunter’s commitment to Jackson State on Thursday, taking to Twitter to remind everyone that talent is talent and it can be found at every level of football — no matter where the game is being played.
Hello. My name is Hugh Douglas . First round draft pick from Central State University. An Historic HBCU . The NFL found me . If you can play it don’t matter were you go . Miss me with that power 5 shit!! pic.twitter.com/RJ9ydmsPMP
— Hugh Douglas (@Bighugh53) December 16, 2021
Douglas makes a good point, as HBCUs have a history of sending players to the NFL. Numerous HBCU products are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, including Walter Payton, Jerry Rice and Shannon Sharpe.
Hunter has a long way to go before being mentioned along with those names, but he has the tools to develop into a star, future high draft pick, and productive pro. He won’t be playing under the spotlight of national television every weekend, but if Hunter is as good as everyone thinks he is, the NFL will find him.
And Douglas will likely be following his journey every step of the way.
[listicle id=673590]