This is the 10th year of my rankings of the top HBCU football players to watch during the season.

I am going to give you six players that may not be household names, but are amongst the best, not only in HBCU football, but in the country. And you will know their names by season’s end. Honorable mention names include Chowan quarterback Bryce Witt, Central State wide receiver Kevin Greenhow, Fayetteville State kick returner Brandon Smith, Tennessee State wide receiver Chris Rowland, Alabama A&M linebacker Amari Holloway, and Morehouse running back Santo Dunn.

On Tuesday, August 13, I will give you my top five players in HBCU football coming into the 2019 season.

5. Joshua Pryor, Bowie State, 6-4, 280, r-Soph., Baltimore, Md.
Baltimore is known more as a basketball city than football. Yet within the last 10 years or so some good college football players have burst onto the scene. One of those players is Pryor. The Dunbar graduate redshirted during his true freshman season and learned a lot during that time. He had one of the dominating rookie seasons in recent memory, leading all HBCU players in tackles for loss (20.5). He registered 9.5 sacks, 55 tackles (32 solo) and three forced fumbles.

 

 

T-4 Austin Stephens, Miles, Sr., Mumford, Ala.
Stephens is a tackling machine, leading all HBCU players in tackles (120) on his way to being named SIAC Defensive Player of the Year and a BOXTOROW All-American in 2018. He also had 14.5 tackles for loss, an interception and four pass breakups. He registered double digit tackles in eight games last year including 14 tackles (nine solo) and 1.5 tackles for loss in the opening game of the season against Alabama A&M. Stephens began to put his name on the map in 2017 with a 16-tackle performance against West Georgia and a 12-tackle performance against Alcorn State. He also had an interception in that game against the Braves.

 

 

T-4 Devon Hunt, Shaw, 6-1, 220, Sr., Hamlet, N.C.
Hunt made an immediate impact for the Bears and on the CIAA in this true freshman year and has improved as a player every year. In 2018, he was named CIAA Defensive Player of the Year and BOXTOROW All-American. Hunt did it all, leading the CIAA in tackles (98), was 10th in Division II in solo tackles (62), registered  four sacks, 15.5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups and an interception which he returned 69 yards for a touchdown. In three seasons, Hunt has 277 tackles and 35 tackles for loss.

 

 

3. Brian Cavicante, Delaware State, Linebacker, 6-0, 220, Sr., Portsmouth, Va.
Cavicante is the MEAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and for good reason. He recorded 89 tackles last year, 50 of those solo. He was also second in the MEAC in tackles for loss (17) and recovered two fumbles. Cavicante has played in 33 games during his career in Dover, starting all of them and has recorded 203 tackles, 129 solo, and 34 tackles for loss. Could be the best linebacker in the MEAC.

 

 

2. Tabyus Taylor, Virginia Union, Running Back, 6-0, 250, Jr., Hopewell, Va.
Taylor was a standout football player in high school at Hopewell, where he ultimately committed to play at Virginia Tech. He ran into some legal troubles and ended up at Virginia Union in 2017 where he has been a “model citizen.” Taylor had a breakout year in 2018, leading all HBCU players in rushing (1,546) and touchdowns (21). He rushed for 100 or more yards in a game eight times, including twice over 200 yards and averaged 6.3 yards per carry.

 

 

1. Deondre Francois, Hampton, Quarterback, 6-2, 216, Sr., Orlando, Fla.
Easy selection as the top player to watch. HBCU porgrams have had plenty of FBS transfers. But none that I can remember as high profile as Francois, who transfers from Florida State after putting up some solid numbers for the Seminoles in 2018, coming off a season-ending injury in the first hame of 2017. He completed 57 percent of his passes for 2,731 yards with 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, and rushed for another three scores. His 248.3 passing yards ranked second in the ACC. In two full seasons at FSU he passed for  6,291 yards with 36 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. He was named the ACC Rookie of the year in 2016. In two full seasons he amassed nine 300-yard passing games and four 350-yard passing games, both tied for fourth all-time at FSU. The beauty of the signing by the Pirates is two-fold. They have a proven college quaretrback that can help them in their first year in the Big South, a conference that has had some turonver in recent years but is beginning to reestablish itself. Secondly, Francois has two years of eligibility remaining.