HBCU players seek numbers
Better combine invites wanted
INDIANAPOLIS — Mark Evans II feels honored to be at this week’s NFL’S annual scouting combine.
The former Arkansas-pine Bluff offensive lineman just believes more players from historically Black colleges and universities deserve to be in Indianapolis.
Nearly three years after the NFL announced its support for enhanced diversity policies and just weeks after the second Legacy Bowl and HBCU combine wrapped up, Evans and Isaiah Land are the only HBCU participants among the 319 invitees. That’s half of last year’s total of four.
“I feel like they’re making progress, but I feel like it most definitely should be more than two,” he said Saturday. “I feel like there are a lot of good players out there and I feel like we should be represented more.”
Should combine officials ask, Evans has some suggestions: linebacker Jordan Lewis of Southern, Lewis’ college teammate and 2023 Legacy Bowl defensive MVP Jason Dumas and North Carolina Central offensive lineman Robert Mitchell.
It’s just a start — and he has more suggestions for next year’s combine, too.
For now, though, Evans must acknowledge one undeniable fact; two years after no HBCU players were drafted, he and Land look like the best hope of avoiding a repeat.
The 6-foot-2-inch, 303-pound Texan was scheduled to work out Sunday with the offensive linemen before closing down the combine with Monday’s bench press.
But the edge rusher from Florida A&M certainly did his part this weekend. Land measured in at 6-3½, 236 pounds, was clocked in the 40-yard dash at 4.62 seconds, 13th in his position group and .02 seconds behind former Alabama star Will Anderson Jr., one of the front-runners to be this year’s No. 1 pick.
“I try to put my best foot forward every time because I just want to give hope to those guys at the HBCU level, like you know you could make it to this point,” he said Thursday. “You’ve just got to stay consistent, and you’ve got to have that underdog mentality.”
It’s a lesson Land seems to have taken from one of today’s top HBCU ambassadors, Indianapolis Colts linebacker Shaquille Leonard. The threetime All-pro beat the odds by becoming a second-round pick, the 2018 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and is still regarded as one of the league’s top playmakers.
Few gave him a chance when he started at South Carolina State. Today, he’s not only the face and voice of what can be achieved with grit and work, he repeatedly advocates for teams and scouts to keep HBCU prospects on their radar.
He’s not alone.
“Florida A&M was a school that I was very familiar with, I watched all their games when I was in high school,” said Washington Commanders GM Martin Mayhew. “They (HBCUS) are getting more views on television. They’re much more visible than they were four or five years ago.”