Football

20 MEAC Football Players Among Draft Diamonds' HBCU Prospects

The website Draft Diamonds listed its 57 HBCU prospects for the 2021 NFL Draft on Friday, and 20 players currently in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) made the list.

From the site: "Today, we broke down the 2021 NFL Draft, we listed 57 players from HBCU schools that we have reviewed and broke down film of in 2019. There are several teams we were not able to get film on, and some teams we watched that we could only receive offensive or defensive snaps. We did our best and think we covered quite a bit of players. Just because they are in number order we are not ranking the players. We are just posting the players we watched and that stuck out on film."

Below are the current MEAC student-athletes, listed in order of ranking, with Draft Diamonds' blurb.

2. Juwan Carter, QB, Norfolk State – Carter reminds me of Tyrod Taylor. He is a quarterback who threw for 2,631 yards last season and hit on 23 touchdowns. Carter can run too, scoring six touchdowns on the ground.

7. Jah-Maine Martin, RB, North Carolina A&T State – The former Coastal Carolina running back has been a huge asset to the Aggies. Last year he put the Aggies on his back, and he was a one-man show. The running back was a force in the MEAC.

8. Isaiah Totten, RB, North Carolina Central – Totten is a speedster, and he ranks seventh all-time on NCCU’s all-time rushing list with 2,122 yards, averaging 5.0 yards per carry and has 15 career rushing touchdowns.

9. Labron Morris, RB, South Carolina State – The 190-pound running back from Decatur, Ga., had a solid year, averaging 4.3 yards per carry and scoring nine touchdowns on just 158 carries. Morris is a player to keep an eye on for the 2021 NFL Draft.

12. Shawn McFarland, FB/TE, Norfolk State – McFarland is underutilized for the Spartans, but in JUCO he was a beast. The 240-pounder hauled in just 15 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown in 2019, but he can block.

13. Taron Mallard, TE, Bethune-Cookman – A 250-pound tight end is big and light on his feet, he reminds me a lot of Donald Parham, who recently tore up the XFL. Mallard finished the 2019 season with 16 receptions for 204 yards and two touchdowns.

18. Kenneth Kirby, OL, Norfolk State – When you look at offensive linemen, you want kids that get the job done and starting experience. Kirby does both. He has started every game since his freshman year, minus the 2018 year in which he had to redshirt. He has 34 career starts, and is a 290-pound offensive tackle

19. Keenan Forbes, OL, Florida A&M – Forbes is an interior lineman to me, a 315-pound offensive lineman who was a key member of an offensive line who did a phenomenal job in pass protection, giving up a league-low eight sacks through 11 games. 

20. Dontae Keys, OL, North Carolina A&T State – The big right tackle for the Aggies did a great job at blocking for one of the best running backs in the FCS. With Marcus Pettiford leaving for the NFL, it will be interesting to see if the 300-pound Keys will move to left tackle for his senior year.

21. Andrew Dale, OL, North Carolina Central – Dale is a 290-pound interior lineman who led the Eagles with an 81 percent grade on his blocking assignments, along with 27 knockdowns and 13 pancake blocks, while only allowing two sacks.

22. Jamal Savage, OL, Bethune Cookman – One of the bigger offensive lineman in the HBCU ranks, the 320-pounder is a savage, like his last name. He can play tackle and guard. The games I watched, he played primarily left guard and he did a great job not allowing a sack.

23. Jalen Powell, OL, Nortfolk State – The 6030, 305 pound offensive lineman has been a staple in the Spartans offensive line. He has started every game since his Freshman year, and is a major part in the Spartans passing offense blocking.

24. De’jour Simpson, OL, North Carolina A&T State – The former Eastern Kentucky transfer is a mean offensive lineman. He has played left guard for the Aggies, and along with Keys helped the Aggies run the ball very well.

29. Chris Myers, DL, Norfolk State – The former Middle Tennessee State transfer is a 245-pound pass rusher who just maybe the best pass rusher in the HBCU ranks. He finished with 10 tackles for loss and nine sacks in 2019.

30. De’Shaan Dixon, DL, Norfolk State – Dixon as a pass rusher teamed with Myers to form a strong duo of pass-rushing ends for the Spartans this season. The junior was fourth on the team with 61 tackles, which included seven tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and a team-high seven quarterback hurries. 

32. Roderick Perry, DT, South Carolina State – The pass rusher finished the season with 4.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss. He finished the season with 34 total tackles, and his motor never stops for being a big boy.

42. Bryan Mills, CB, North Carolina Central – Mills led the conference with five interceptions, and ranked second in the MEAC with 13 passes defended. He also accounted for 22 tackles.

43. Mac McCain III, CB,  North Carolina A&T State – Mac is a star cornerback and a big play maker for the Aggies. He has two career 100-yard interception returns for a touchdown. He has been starting for the past several years and is a stud.

45. Decobie Durant, DB, South Carolina State – The defensive back finished the 2019 season with 35 total tackles including four tackles for loss. He also had three interceptions his junior year. I expect him to ball out in 2020.

53. Chris Faddoul, P, Florida A&M – Faddoul is probably the best HBCU special teams player. He averaged 46.03 yards a punt last season and bombed a 72 yarder. I like this kid, he has a huge leg.

View the full list here.