Gimme 5: A quintet of HBCU standouts head for the NFL Combine

NEW HAVEN, Ct. (BP) -- Just over two weeks after the Baltimore Ravens won their second Super Bowl, the NFL returns to the spotlight with their yearly Scouting Combine.

Dubbed by some wags as the "Underwear Olympics", some 300 or so former college players will be given another opportunity to show their talents.

Each February, some of the best college football players are invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Ind., where executives, coaches, scouts and doctors from all 32 NFL teams conduct an intense, four-day job interview in advance of the NFL Draft. 

Among those players, a group of five HBCU standouts will try to leave a lasting impression on teams with the hopes of getting a call from them during the final weekend in April. 

If given the opportunity, these players will follow in the footsteps of past standouts like Hall of Famer Buck Buchanon (Grambling State) or the late Steve McNair (Alcorn State). 

Not to mention active HBCU players like Jacoby Jones (Lane College), Tavaris Jackson (Alabama State), and Robert Mathis (Alabama A&M).

Here's a look at the five hopefuls:

OT Terran Armstead, Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Vitals: 6-5, 305 lbs

Bio: A three-time All-SWAC selection, Armstead was also an eight-time SWAC champ in track and field. Over his career for Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Armstead has played in 37 games. He started all 12 games at left tackle in his senior season. Armstead was impressive during the East-West Shrine Game, where he performed extremely well. He was also called on to play in the Senior Bowl as an injury replacement for Tennessee's Dallas Thomas. 

What they're saying about him: He can likely stay outside, although some teams might see him as a guard. He could find himself as a Day 2 pick before all is said and done (NFL.com).

OT Rogers Gaines, Tennessee State

Vitals: 6-7, 320 lbs.

Bio: After redshirting his first year on campus and then only playing a combined 11 games as a reserve, Gaines blossomed in 2011. During his first year as a starter, Ohio Valley Conference coaches voted him second-team all-conference for his efforts. Gaines was a Phil Steele second-team preseason All-American heading into 2012.

What they're saying about him: He dominated many of the players he faced at the FCS level with his pure size and athleticism. Gaines also shows a bit of a nasty streak at times. While he is a project, a team will likely give him a shot late in the draft based on his upside (NFL.com).

ILB Brandon Hepburn, Florida A&M

Vitals: 6-2, 242 lbs.

Bio: Hepburn was the Rattlers' leading tackler in 2012 with 86 total. He was awarded to the Allstate/AFCA Good Works Team, the first member in FAMU football history. Earned a degree in biochemistry and is currently pursuing a graduate degree in the field. After being invited to the Raycom All Star game in Montgomery, Alabama, Hepburn opened the eyes of NFL scouts, after making a huge interception on a batted pass.  

What they're saying about him: His postseason performance has given him a boost in his status. Could be a fifth or sixth rounder (Various scouting reports).

OT Jamaal Johnson-Webb, Alabama A&M

Vitals: 6-6, 306 lbs.

Bio: The first Alabama A&M player ever invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, Johnson-Webb has been a two-time All-SWAC selection.  As a right tackle in 2011, Webb was successful in anchoring a line that gave up only 22 sacks on 399 passing attempts and 1,805 rushing yards in 2011. In 2012, the offense finished fifth in total offense, fifth in scoring offense, fifth in passing efficiency and second in red zone offense. Webb never played football until his senior season of high school.

What they're saying about him: Jamal is the most athletic lineman I’ve ever coached. He is a hard worker who has developed into an NFL prospect (Pro liaison and AA&M offensive line coach Cedric Pearl).

OLB Keith Pough, Howard 

Vitals: 6-3, 236 lbs.

Bio: The MEAC's Defensive Player of the Year in 2012, Pough recorded 72 total tackles, 44 solo, with 10.0 for a loss of 50 yards during the 2012 campaign.  Pough became the FCS all-time record holder in tackles for a loss with 83 to cap his four-year collegiate career with the Bison.  He ranks 13th in totl tackles as well as in tackles for a loss in the conference.  He also recorded 3.5 sacks for a loss of 35 yards, two quarterback hurries, one block, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and earned his first-career touchdown in a come-from-behind victory over Delaware State.

What they're saying about him:  Pough is a tackles-for-loss machine, using his length and speed to chase ballcarriers from behind, as well as attitude to attack them in the hole. His tall, lean build and movement skills could make him a mid-round pick for teams looking for a coverage ‘backer or potential blitzing threat on the weak or strong sides of the formation (NFL.com).

Tony McClean can be reached via e-mail at tee-mac@thebatchelorpad.biz.

Armstead, Hepburn are only HBCU picks in NFL Draft

NEW YORK (BP) -- They were all-league standouts for their teams in their respective conferences. 

Subsequently they were invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in February to show their talents.

Now less than two months after that weekend in Indianapolis, Florida A&M linebacker Brandon Hepburn and Arkansas-Pine Bluff offensive tackle Terron Armstead got the call that every college football player waits for.

These pair of HBCU athletes are now headed to the National Football League.

It began last Friday when the three-time All-SWAC selection and University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff lineman was selected the No. 75 pick overall in the third round by the New Orleans Saints during the 2013 NFL Draft.

The 6-foot-5, 306 pound Armstead becames the 504th player from a SWAC member institution taken in the NFL Draft and the first player since 2011.  To cap his collegiate career, he helped lead UAPB to the 2012 SWAC Football Championship title, its second conference title overall in football. 

UAPB finished first in the SWAC in rushing offense (204.7 ypg) and second in sacks against. In his senior season, he started all 12 games, playing in a total of 32 games during his career.

At the 2013 NFL Combine, Armstead ran a remarkably fast 4.71 sec 40-yard dash, which is the fastest 40 yard dash time of any offensive lineman at the combine since it first began in 1982.
Armstead is also an eight-time individual champion in indoor and outdoor track & field.

Then on Saturday, Hepburn was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the seventh round as the 245th  pick overall. He became the second FAMU Rattler gridder to be drafted in three years as former Rattler defensive back Curtis Holcomb was selected in the seventh round by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2011 draft.

The 2012 season was probably the most memorable season for Hepburn as he was award to the All State/AFCA Good Works team, the first member in FAMU football history and the first HBCU player to be selected in the history of the award. 

In addition, he earned second team All-MEAC honors and was a Preseason All-MEAC selection.   He finished the season as the team leading tackler with 86 tackles (60 UA, 26 Asst.), 9.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, seven pass breakups, one fumble recovery and one force fumble.

Hepburn finishes his career at FAMU with 163 career  tackles (109 UA, 54 Asst); 15.0  tackles for loss,  11 pass breakups, two force fumbles, one fumble recovery and  7.5 sacks.   

Imagined and -Realized: My friend, Roland Rogers

“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.”
– John Lennon
by Tony McClean, Editor-In-Chief, Emeritus BASN

NEW HAVEN (BASN) — That classic line from the late Beatles’ song “Imagine” has been uttered and repeated for many years. However, its message and impact has never touched me more than it has the past few days.

The sudden passing of my friend and colleague Roland Rogers, the CEO of the Black Athlete Sports Network, has left many of us who either worked with or had him touch our lives feeling very sad. I’ve been very blessed to work with many talented folks over the years while in the sports media business.
Roland was no exception. In many ways, he set himself apart from anyone who I called my boss.



I first joined BASN way back in 2002 just after one of my many journeys while surfing the net. However, I never thought that over a decade later, the impact and interactions that had with so many during my time at “The Soul of Sports” would still be felt to this very day.

I wasn’t one of the original folks that started BASN back in the day. However, I definitely believed in the site’s basic mantra. Roland wanted BASN to be “the definitive place on the Internet to find coverage of Black athletes and Black involvement in sports at all levels”.

He had me at that statement. When he would later give me with the title of Editor In Chief of the site, I was humbled and honored. The fact that he entrusted me with his vision and the direction of the site was one of the greatest gifts bestowed upon me.

Now it was always cookies and cream. Yes, we had our differences. Yes, we would bark at each other at times. But it was never out of lack of love or respect for each other. We all had the same basic vision, but we had different ways of reaching it.

Roland was a man who wore many hats. Many of you may or may not know that he had several ventures into politics while serving at BASN. He would many several runs as Mayor of New York City because of his displeasure with Mayor Bloomberg and his policies.

The mayoral runs spoke to Roland’s passion about issues within the black community. When Roland had a cause he believed in, he went after it full blast. Nothing ever seemed impossible to him. It goes back to the Lennon line I spoke of previously.

Roland always dreamed of doing things big. I feel it was his strength and his weakness at times.



Many colleagues reading this will long remember the seemingly endless meetings within and outside the staff. The times when Roland was “working on some stuff” that never seemed to come to fruition. The projects that had good intentions, but were either forgotten or not pursued.

One such project that did get started, but of a small level was “BASN Radio”. Roland was looking for this to be a 24-hour sports network — similar to the 24-hour radio stations in New York (WFAN), Chicago (WMVP), and Los Angeles (KSPN).

It was ambitious. But with a staff of barely 20 folks, it was just impossible to cover the shifts.

It did however spawn three shows that still exist to this very day. “The Batchelor Pad” (hosted by myself and L.A. Batchelor), “Soul Tree Radio: In The Raw” (hosted by Michael-Louis Ingram) originally called “The Sports M.C.’s” was another, and “The Gray Leopard Cove” (hosted by Gary Norris Gray).

All three of these shows still follow Roland’s basic mantra in being “the definitive place on the Internet to find coverage of Black athletes and Black involvement in sports at all levels”. In many ways because of these shows, Roland’s dream still lives.

When I left BASN, I left on a good note. There was no bitterness. In fact, the last time I talked to Roland, I was razzing him about his beloved Bills. We also talked (or should I say whined) about the present situation with our Mets.

All in all, the thing I’ll always remember about Roland was his passion and his desire to venture into so many things. Again, I go back to the Lennon line which in retrospect really speaks to the kind of person that Roland was.

As I’ve told many of my BASN colleagues, I will do anything and everything in my power to Roland’s dream alive. Because he believed so much in me, I feel that I owe this to him, his family, and his lasting legacy.
Rest in Peace, my friend. You have and will be missed by us all.

Note: This article was written by Tony McClean, Editor-In-Chief, Emeritus BASN