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Shannon Sharpe has responded to Deion Sanders. The Colorado head coach took issue with NFL teams seemingly overlooking HBCU prospects in the draft after only Isaiah Bolden was selected. Sanders said the 31 NFL teams that passed on HBCU prospects should be ashamed of themselves.
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Sharpe doesn't agree with his ire, though. Sanders was formerly the head coach at an HBCU, so this issue hits close to home for him. However, Shannon Sharpe doesn't believe the issue is like Sanders detailed it. He responded on Undisputed:
"I get it. I went to an HBCU... That was once upon a time that was the case. Not just an HBCU. There were black quarterbacks that were good enough to play in the NFL. They got overlooked.... There's an absorbitent amount of money in scouting. These guys get in their car and they drive around to all these other institutions and trying to find that diamond in the rough. You'll get more credit for finding an HBCU guy that can play in the NFL than you will in Michigan."
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He continued:
"They got the best of everything so they should be they should be top of the league. But when you are the HBCU offensive coordinator probably running back coach, maybe wide receiver coach and hell, he might even teach a class. Yeah, I would disagree with him on this one. I believe if the guys were talented enough to get drafted, I believe they would have gotten drafted."
From Shannon Sharpe's perspective, NFL teams are no longer ignoring HBCU prospects and that if they were good enough, some team would have selected them.
Why Shannon Sharpe might be right: HBCU stars in NFL history
There have been a lot of HBCU prospects that made it in the NFL. Some of them have been quite good, including:
- Nick Collins
- Donald Driver
- Everson Walls
- Steve McNair
- Doug Williams
- Robert Mathis
- Ed Jones
- Michael Strahan
- Shannon Sharpe
- Mel Blount
- Walter Payton
- Jerry Rice
- Deacon Jones
Even now, plenty of active NFL players have been from HBCUs. Perhaps, to Deion Sanders' credit, there should have been more from this draft.
