The fifth annual Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl proved to be the game's most competitive iteration yet, treating fans at Tulane University's Yulman Stadium to four full quarters of highlights.
The bowl, which showcases the top NFL draft-eligible players from Historically Black College and Universities, went Team Gaither's way -- a 27-23 victory over Team Robinson in which both squads notched their highest point totals in the game's history.
Despite a scoreboard that was well lit up, though, defense ultimately paved the way to victory for Team Gaither.
After the teams traded touchdowns to begin the contest, both sides settled in for an eventual 13-13 halftime score. From there, Team Gaither's defense tilted the tide.
Protecting a 20-13 lead in the third quarter, North Carolina A&T cornerback Aaron Harris jumped a quick route to the boundary nearing his own 30-yard line, then returned it all the way down to the 1-yard line to set up a score to open up a two-touchdown lead.
Jelani Vassell of North Carolina Central preserved that margin with a pick in the end zone after Team Robinson had responded with a drive to Team Gaither's 1-yard line.
An INT touchdown by Team Robinson just outside the final frame subsequently tightened the collars, but Team Gaither allowed only three points in the fourth quarter, holding on with a fourth-down stand and then a strip sack by Delaware State's Quincy Robinson -- both of which came in the game's final 74 seconds.
Those defenders delivered in massive spots when called upon, but it was defensive end Michael Lunz II of South Carolina State who led the unit throughout to earn defensive most valuable player.
Lunz had 1.5 sacks and two tackles, but his presence went beyond the stat sheet. He ruined a drive nearly singlehandedly early on in the outing. He forced several panicked throwaways, and it was Lunz who made a goal-line tackle on first down preceding Vassell's end-zone interception.
"We're tenacious," Lunz told NFL Network's Sherree Burruss postgame of the defense's effort. "We don't give up. We're gonna fight for 60 minutes, and that's just it. We wasn't gonna lose. We was gonna fight the whole time. And that's what we did, and we came out with a win."
As for what he hopes fans take away from his individual performance, it's pretty simple.
"That I can play football," Lunz said. "That's it."
Offensively, Winston-Salem State running back JaQuan Kelly stood head and shoulders above the rest as the game's offensive MVP.
The only player to find the end zone twice, Kelly rushed for 76 yards on 10 carries. His first touchdown was Team Gaither's first, as well, a 22-yard scamper in which he sprinted untouched to the outside and beat everyone else to pay dirt. His second saw him punch it in following Harris' near interception return for a TD, providing Team Gaither with what would eventually stand as the winning score.
"What I took from this right here was opportunity," Kelly told Burruss of his takeaways from the week as a whole. "I knew I wasn't like the top dude in their lists and all that, but now I am. I'm coming."
Beginning in 2022, the HBCU Legacy Bowl serves as the centerpiece of a weeklong celebration of Black culture and history that includes the country's largest HBCU career fair.
Doug Williams, the co-founder of the Black College Football Hall of Fame and the HBCU Legacy Bowl who quarterbacked Washington to a Super Bowl XXII victory, spoke to Burruss on the sideline during the game and echoed Kelly's comments about the importance of the event for its participants.
"It's all about an opportunity," Williams said. "To give them a chance to be seen and give them an opportunity to go out there and perform. If you do that, that's all people ask for."
Many HBCU athletes have gone on to NFL careers, with recent examples including players such as Rams cornerback Cobie Durant and Cowboys linebacker James Houston, both drafted in 2022, as well as Durant's teammate Xavier Smith, the offensive MVP of the '23 Legacy Bowl who went undrafted but has played 31 games for Los Angeles over the past two seasons. Ravens offensive lineman Carson Vinson, an Alabama A&M alum, was drafted in the fifth round of last year's draft.
Saturday's showcase provided more exposure to some of the best HBCUs have to offer, hopefully leading to a great many more success stories in the league.
