Mississippi has, to put it mildly, a complicated history when it comes to race relations. Even as times have changed and attitudes have modernized, a number of the all-time best athletes to compete in college sports did so at schools other than the state’s flagship campuses.
From our perspective, however, it has made the task of choosing the 10 greatest college players more fun. Six different schools are represented on this list, including some hall-of-fame gridiron talents from the state’s trio of HBCU’s. The Magnolia State’s two SEC schools are also represented, of course, and though football is a rather big deal there we’ve found some worthy candidates in other sports as well.
The Football Championship Subdivision player of the year award bears Payton’s name with good reason. Before becoming a household name with the Chicago Bears and the NFL's all-time leading rusher (now No. 2 on the list), ‘Sweetness’ was rewriting the record book with the Jackson State Tigers, where he scored a total of 464 points and rushed for 3,563 yards.
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The greatest pass catcher ever to take the field NFL first made his mark on the college game at Mississippi Valley State. From 1981-84 he caught 301 ***** for 4,693 yards and 50 touchdowns for the Delta Devils. Along the way he set records for most catches (102) and yards (1,454) in a season and in a game (24) while earning first-team All-America honors.
#college #schools #bears
From our perspective, however, it has made the task of choosing the 10 greatest college players more fun. Six different schools are represented on this list, including some hall-of-fame gridiron talents from the state’s trio of HBCU’s. The Magnolia State’s two SEC schools are also represented, of course, and though football is a rather big deal there we’ve found some worthy candidates in other sports as well.
The Football Championship Subdivision player of the year award bears Payton’s name with good reason. Before becoming a household name with the Chicago Bears and the NFL's all-time leading rusher (now No. 2 on the list), ‘Sweetness’ was rewriting the record book with the Jackson State Tigers, where he scored a total of 464 points and rushed for 3,563 yards.
USA 250 LISTS: Alaska | Alabama | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri
The greatest pass catcher ever to take the field NFL first made his mark on the college game at Mississippi Valley State. From 1981-84 he caught 301 ***** for 4,693 yards and 50 touchdowns for the Delta Devils. Along the way he set records for most catches (102) and yards (1,454) in a season and in a game (24) while earning first-team All-America honors.
#college #schools #bears
5 days ago
