Hard times for the SWAC?

"Anybody who thinks you can’t play because you are from an HBCU is out of their mind"  --  Michael Strahan

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - The Southwestern Athletic Conference has given the NFL Jerry Rice, the league’s all-time reception leader; Walter Payton, the No. 2 all-time rushing leader; Michael Strahan, the league’ single-season sack champion and Doug Williams, MVP of Super Bowl XXII. In three of the past four NFL drafts, the SWAC has given the league nothing.

Zero. Zilch. Nada. Bupkiss.

Have the SWAC and HBCUs lost their swagger? To get a handle on this, consider that Alabama had four players drafted in the first round this year, a number equal to players from Historically Black Colleges and Universities taken in the last two years – all four coming from the Mideastern Athletic Conference. The only player taken this year was Christian Thompson, a safety from South Carolina State selected in the fourth round by the Baltimore Ravens. Since 2005, only five SWAC players have been drafted.

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