boxtorow.com

There are eight players who played tight end who are currently in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Ben Coates is not one of them.

Despite being recognized as one of the best two tight ends during most of the ’90’s, making the NFL 1990’s All-Decade Team, winning a Super Bowl and being a member of the New England Patriots Hall of Fame, Coates is not in.  He retired from the NFL after the 2000 season.

A former fifth round draft choice from Livingstone College in 1991, he played 10 seasons in the National Football League.  Coates caught 499 passes for 5,555 yards and 50 touchdowns.  He played nine seasons in New England and began to become elite when Bill Parcells became head coach in New England in 1993.

He played the 2000 season with the Baltimore Ravens, winning the Super Bowl as a member of the Ravens.

Coates only played three years at Livingstone in Salisbury, NC.  In those three years he had 1,268 receiving yards, 18 receiving touchdowns and was named first team All-CIAA in 1990.  He had that kind of productivity in three years, yet is not in the CIAA Hall of Fame either.

Coates was a guest on FROM THE PRESS BOX TO PRESS ROW w/ Donal Ware on Saturday as part of BOXTOROW’s HBCU Legend Series and talked about about his year in the NFL, his time at Livingstone and not being in the hall of fame.

Listen to the interview