Cowboys Executive Claps Back At Deion Sanders' 'Ashamed' Comment
Dallas Cowboys vice president of player personnel Will McClay disputes Deion Sanders' claim of being "ashamed" of NFL teams drafting only one HBCU football player in the 2023 NFL Draft.
"Deion's doing a great job of promoting HBCUs and promoting Colorado and all those things,'' McClay told Cowboys Country. "And so that's part of what the deal is - he wants to see players drafted. We want to draft good football players, and good football players come from everywhere."
Cowboys Clap Back at Deion Sanders
Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders is seen during an NCAA college football game against Mississippi Valley State in Jackson, Miss., Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. Tcl Jsu Vs Ms Valley244 Credit:© Hannah Mattix/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK
Isaiah Bolden, one of Sanders' former players at Jackson State University, was drafted by the New England Patriots as the 245th overall pick in the 7th round of the recent draft.
McClay, offering logic, noted, "There's not a conspiracy against drafting HBCU players. We're looking for players that can come from anywhere. I think that we've had the opportunities in the NFL in having things to highlight the HBCU schools."
In the past few days, even Coach Prime's good friend Shannon Sharpe countered his "ashamed" social media posting. "I'm going to disagree with Prime [Deion Sanders] on this one," Sharpe said to Skip Bayless. "I believe if the guys were talented enough to get drafted, I believe they would have got drafted."
HBCU legend and former Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams said he was "stunned" that more players didn't receive calls to be drafted, especially after his work of introducing over 100 players to NFL scouts and executives at the 2023 HBCU Legacy Bowl in February.
The debate will continue for some time. HBCU fans and experts have been curious about why HBCU coaches and the four principal HBCU conference commissioners have not expressed any worries regarding the outcome of the draft.
Currently, 20 undrafted players from HBCUs have either signed UDFA rookie contracts or been invited to attend upcoming rookie mini-camps.