Crawley and Byers Set To Shine At 2025 Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl

Two HBCU football stars from the SWAC and CIAA commit to play in the 2024 Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl.

Jada Byers and Myles Crawley / Credit: Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl

The Black College Football Hall of Fame (BCFHOF) announced today the first players to be named to the 2025 Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl. The Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl will take place on Saturday, February 22nd, 2025 at Tulane University’s Yulman Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana.

“To announce these two incredible young men as our first invitees to the 2025 Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl means the world to us,” Doug Williams, Super Bowl XXII MVP and Co-Founder of the Black College Football Hall of Fame said. “They represent the very best of HBCU football today, and we know they will represent this game incredibly well.”

Myles Crawley / GSU Athletics

Representing Grambling State University, quarterback Myles Crawley will play for Team Robinson. Crawley was named the 2024 SWAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. A transfer from Alabama State, he started every game for Grambling in 2023, completing 197 of 328 passes for 2,312 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Representing Virginia Union University, running back Jada Byers will play for Team Gaither. He was named to the 2024 Preseason All-CIAA team after rushing for 1,186 yards and 16 touchdowns during the 2023 season. Prior to that in 2022, Byers ran for a school-record 1,928 yards and lead the nation with 2,256 all-purpose yards.

Virginia Union running back Jada Byers breaks the tackle of Morehouse's Cameron Selders as he runs for a first-half touchdown in the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic, Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023, in Canton. / Kevin Whitlock / Massillon Independent / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Black College Football Hall of Fame and the National Football League will also hold the HBCU Combine on February 17th at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center, which is the New Orleans Saints practice facility. The event is patterned after the NFL Combine.

Partners of the game include Allstate, the National Football League, adidas, Coca-Cola, Coors Light, the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the New Orleans Saints, 15 and the Mahomies Foundation, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Riddell, as well as NFL players Terron Armstead, Aaron Donald, Patrick Mahomes, Bobby Wagner and Jameis Winston.

ABOUT THE ALLSTATE HBCU LEGACY BOWL

The Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl, presented by the Black College Football Hall of Fame, is a postseason all-star game that showcases the top 100 NFL draft-eligible football players from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The game will be played on the Saturday, February 22, 2025 (Yulman Stadium at Tulane University), and broadcast live on NFL Network. More than a football game, the week-long celebration of Black culture and history provides invaluable exposure for HBCU students and includes the largest HBCU Career Fair in the country.

ABOUT THE BLACK COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME

The Black College Football Hall of Fame, a non-profit, tax-exempt organization, located at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio was founded in 2009 by African American pioneers, quarterbacks James Harris and Doug Williams to preserve the history and honor the greatest football players, coaches and contributors from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. There are 118 Inductees including Mel Blount, James Harris, Willie Lanier, Art Shell and Doug Williams, who serve as Trustees. The Black College Football Hall of Fame has awarded over $450,000 in direct support to HBCUs and HBCU scholarships since inception. Other major initiatives include the Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl, the HBCU Combine and the Ozzie Newsome GM & Quarterback Summit (in partnership with the NFL), as well as the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic (in partnership with the Pro Football Hall of Fame).