Reese’s Senior Bowl, NFL to host 2022 HBCU Football Combine

Reese’s Senior Bowl will host the first HBCU football combine before the 2022 draft in collaboration with the NFL. The combine takes place January 28-29, 2022, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala., a week before the Senior Bowl game.

The MEAC, SWAC, CIAA, and SIAC conferences will all have player representation at the combine. The first HBCU combine was supposed to be last year but was canceled due to COVID-19.

“The Reese’s Senior Bowl is honored to be collaborating with the National Football League to host the inaugural HBCU Combine in Mobile, Alabama,” said Reese’s Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy.

“Over the years, the Senior Bowl has served as a showcase for some of the top Black college football players in America, including seven of our game’s 56 future members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and this event will help many more HBCU players secure further attention and exposure from all 32 teams.”

The HBCU Combine will pattern itself after the NFL Combine in gathering different types of information. For example, NFL teams will conduct medical testing, interviews, and drills from the NFL, Combine; the 40-yard dash, three-cone, and bench press.

Player selection for the HBCU football combine

An HBCU Scouting Committee, made of current and former league executives, will evaluate talent and select players from HBCUs. In addition, the Senior Bowl will conduct the medical examinations and provide essential pre-draft information before the combine.

The most important aspect of the HBCU Combine is that all 32 teams will send representation to scout and evaluate talent.

Players from HBCUs have woven themselves into the fabric of the NFL. Grambling legend Doug Williams was the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl. Mississippi Valley State icon Jerry Rice nearly every vital receiving record in the NFL.

The Reese’s Senior Bowl takes place February 5, 2022, at Hancock Whitney Stadium.