NEW ORLEANS — When Pro Football Hall of Famers like Walter "Sweetness" Payton, Jerry Rice, Jackie Slater, Mel Blount, Willie Lanier, Art Shell and Richard Dent were playing college football at their respective historically black colleges and universities, they were not offered opportunities for greater exposure to a future in the NFL.
They earned and fought for their spots into the league, incorporating strong work ethic, discipline, internal motivation and talent to defy the odds. It paid off for those seven, who partially make up the group of 34 HBCU players—nearly 10% of the NFL’s total number of 362 Pro Football Hall of Famers—currently enshrined into the HOF.