Doug Williams Is Helping Lift HBCU Athletes Toward Their Own NFL Dreams

The first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl helped launch the HBCU Legacy Bowl. He spoke with SI on the event, the state of HBCU football and more.

When Doug Williams and James “Shack” Harris made the leap to the NFL ranks, they did not have the opportunity to participate in an all HBCU-only event to showcase their skills in front of NFL executives, scouts and decision makers.

However, the two Grambling State alumni and founders of the Black College Football Hall of Fame will orchestrate the second edition of the HBCU Legacy Bowl on Saturday at Tulane University’s Yulman Stadium in New Orleans. As the creators of the HBCU showcase, Saturday’s clash will provide opportunities for nearly 100 HBCU athletes from more than 40 different HBCU programs across the country—from the SWAC, MEAC, CIAA and SIAC—to display their skills in front of personnel from 30 NFL teams. Other leagues, such as the USFL and the XFL, will also be attendance for the event.

The players are broken up into two teams: Team Gaither and Team Robinson, named after legendary coaches Jake Gaither and Eddie Robinson. 

Players from schools in the MEAC and CIAA will be part of Team Gaither, coached by Fayetteville State coach Richard Hayes and North Carolina Central’s Trei Oliver. Schools playing in the SIAC and SWAC will play on Team Robinson, coached by Benedict College’s Chennis Berry and Southern University’s Eric Dooley.

Williams, a four-year starter at Grambling in the 1970s, became the first Black quarterback taken in the first round of the NFL draft in 1978. After an 11-year career as a pro in which he became the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl, Williams coached for more than two decades before entering the front office ranks. He now serves as a senior advisor for the Commanders.

Leading up to Saturday’s game, Sports Illustrated spoke with Williams about the growth of the event, its purpose and the state of HBCU football.

Williams won Super Bowl XXII before going on to have a career in both coaching and the front office :: Max Gersh/The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Commercial Appeal via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Sports Illustrated: What are you hoping to see different in this year’s HBCU Legacy Bowl versus the inaugural event from a year ago?

Doug Williams: The most important thing from this whole experience, to be honest, is not just the game itself but to give a lot of guys an opportunity to be seen. This year, we were fortunate enough to have the [HBCU] Combine with the event. Last year, they did it in Mobile, Alabama with the Senior Bowl. I thought it was fitting this year that we did it all together. Of the 48 kids that we had at the combine, 47 of them are playing in the game. That’s a big improvement in itself from last year. The combine was pretty much outside last year. This year, it was at the Saints’ indoor facility where there was not any excuse of wind, rain for anything else that would effect us.

SI: Do you think having the HBCU Combine in conjunction with the Legacy Bowl made the athletes more comfortable in performing in front of scouts?

DW: Well first of all, let’s be honest. They’re in an environment they are comfortable with but it was an environment that was not even there at first. They were not even getting the opportunity. These 48 guys weren’t even getting the opportunity to go to the combine in Indiana. They had a chance to showcase their talent and give scouts a chance to look at guys we know that are in the HBCUs who can play at the next level, if given the chance.

HBCU Legends: 2023 HBCU Combine Roster

SI: How did you and James “Shack” Harris feel knowing that you all were able to add the Combine element to the Legacy Bowl?

DW: To me and James, who created this Legacy Bowl, it is a great feeling. It’s not for me nor Shack, our days are over with. This is for the young guys that we feel like deserve an opportunity to be seen. These guys did not have anywhere to go. The original combine usually, if you are lucky, would have two guys there, sometimes, no guys from HBCUs. The NFL put everything into this combine. They did nearly everything they did in Indy. We have the Legacy Bowl and the combine but the biggest part of this for us is the job fair. We got 100 companies that will be here for juniors and seniors students seeking jobs. So, it is not just the game and combine, this is an opportunity to offer young Black girls and boys an opportunity to get a job. We also know that everybody is not going to go to the NFL—maybe 12 to 15 guys might get NFL opportunities. But they all get the chance to go to the job fair, game and the combine. The most important thing about going to school is to get a degree. And, if football is not your way of living for the next four to five years, you can get a good jobs and have it for 25 to 30 years. Somebody is going to capitalize on that.

SI: When watching the players during practices, what are some things that you notice about some of the athletes?

DW: Going through individual drills and seeing the scouts weigh the players movement, athletic ability and skills. Anybody can come up and be a hell of a player in a game. But the practices really matter more than the game. We have about 30 teams that are signed up to be on the sideline during practices. You got 30 sets of eyes watching the guys. It only takes one team to like a certain guy. 

SI: Four people from the HBCU ranks were selected in the 2022 NFL draft. With the 2023 draft quickly approaching, what would you consider a major step up in terms of number of people selected from the HBCU ranks this year?

DW: We were lucky, fortunate and blessed to get four guys drafted. But we also had an an opportunity to get 36 guys on a tryout basis or sign a free agent deal with an NFL team, which is tremendously more than we ever had at one time. Hopefully, this year, we can do the same thing or better in getting some guys drafted. But, at the same time, the most important thing is to get an opportunity to go and show a team what you can do. If we stay the course with where we are, I think things are going to improve down the road.

Jackson: Legacy Bowl Provides New Platform for HBCU’s NFL Prospects

SI: Would you say a player doing the HBCU Legacy Bowl and combine are better than a player only doing a pro day at his respective school? Does it help to do both?

DW: At HBCU pro days, you probably got about three or four scouts there. Here, and we’ve talked to some players who elected not to come to the combine because they think that that pro day is the most important thing at their school. What they don’t really understand, going to an HBCU, a lot of scouts are not going there. They [NFL teams] might send one or two guys there. It takes one team to like you. But if you got 30 teams watching you, there’s a chance of having one like you versus only four teams watching you.

SI: You came from the HBCU ranks at Grambling State and were successful in the NFL. What are the key things players from HBCUs must do to stand out?

DW: Everything comes down to talent. You have to bring talent to the practices and to the games. There has to be more than just will and the desire to be part of something. They have to have talent. We got some of the best players who played in HBCUs and we hope those talents show up. We got about 12 guys that have talent that can make it in the NFL. But, they have to show it. They can’t just have the desire. What is the desire without talent?

SI: Players like Lions’ James Houston (Jackson State) or Rams’ Decobie Durant (South Carolina State) made their presence felt in their rookie seasons. When you look at the impact of Houston, how would you describe it, someone who was not even starting the season for Detroit but ended the season with eight sacks in his final seven games of the season?

DW: It lets you know they [Detroit] look at HBCUs as a stepping stone. I am sure that they are kicking themselves for not letting him show what he could do early on in the season. That's the type of impact we are trying to have. Those are the types of players who go unnoticed but when they get an opportunity, they make you notice them. But, you got to have Houston's mentality. You have to understand this is not the college ranks. This is the pros. Your mindset has to be professional. 

SI: The Legacy Bowl provides an opportunity for players to showcase their skills to NFL scouts. But, what are your thoughts on other leagues—USFL and  XFL—giving more opportunities for HBCU players to thrive beyond the NFL ranks?

DW: They understand. We talked to both the USFL and the XFL about credentials to this game. They understand what this is all about. It is not just the NFL anymore. They have significant opportunities to further their careers as a player. You get seen in the Canadian league, USFL or XFL, you still have a chance to play at the next level.

SI: How do you look at the state of HBCU football following the departure and impact of Deion Sanders?

DW: Let me clear something up. There is only one Deion Sanders in America. Whether if he was at Jackson State, Southern, Texas Southern, he would have brought the same kind of notoriety where ever he was. That’s who he is. Deion is not in the SWAC, not in the MEAC, CIAA or SIAC. When you look at the landscape of HBCUs, it is exactly where they have been. We didn’t just start playing football two years ago. We’ve had great coaches in the HBCU conferences for years. You can’t even name all of the guys but we did not have social media at that time. We did not have Deion Sanders swagger at that time. I applaud Deion for what he did at JSU. But we are the HBCUs in America. We already know we are underfunded. A lot of things we are not going to have. So, it takes the coaches who understand Black colleges to go in there and understand and coach and realize that you are not going to have everything you desire. It’s like what Coach Eddie Robinson told us when I was in school at Grambling, we have done so much with so little that you can almost do anything without nothing. That’s the mentality that you got to have.