Power Five to HBCU: Five players to watch this season

Seven McGee, Jackson State football
Seven McGee

RB Seven McGee, Jackson State

There are lots of former Power Five players at new-look Jackson State this year – including quarterbacks Jason Brown and Jacobian Morgan. But the nature of the quarterback position dictates that only one of them will play at a time and it hasn’t been revealed yet who will get the nod.

Former Oregon athlete Seven McGee figures to see the field a lot this season thanks to his versatility. He was one of the first players to commit to Jackson State after Deion Sanders announced he would be headed to Colorado. 

McGee played in 13 of 14 games as a true freshman, starting the season at running back before transitioning to receiver as he rushed 14 times for 61 yards and a touchdown while adding seven receptions for 84 yards in 2021. He briefly entered the transfer portal following his freshman season, only to return to Eugene. McGee played in six games – catching 11 passes for 67 yards – in 2022 before deciding to hit the portal.

Whoever the quarterback is in Jackson, it’s likely McGee will be a key weapon for him. 

Miles Campbell, HBCU football, NCCU, Power Five

TE Miles Campbell, North Carolina Central

A 6-foot-3, 235-pound athlete, Miles Campbell is a native of Douglasville, GA. He was rated a four-star prospect and ranked the No. 13 tight end in the class by 247Sports. He had offers from many of the Power Five programs, including Michigan, Auburn, Florida State and more than a dozen others. He eventually committed to Tennessee.

Campbell saw action in five games over two years for Tennessee before hitting the transfer portal. He heads to a North Carolina Central team coming off a MEAC title and national championship with quarterback Davius Richard under center. Tight ends weren’t necessarily a featured part of NCCU’s high-powered offense in 2022. Players listed as tight end caught exactly one pass, and that came from sophomore Kyle Morgan in the season-opener against North Carolina A&T.

Obviously, none of NCCU’s tight ends in 2022 were four-star players. It will be interesting to see how Miles Campbell is integrated into an already dynamic offense as a weapon for Davius Richards.

RB Kenji Christian, North Carolina A&T

Christian was a three-star back in high school, rated as the 42nd-best running back and the 26th-best player in Alabama for the 2021 cycle according to the 247Sports ratings. He was pursued by Arkansas, Duke, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kansas State, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Virginia before committing to Virginia Tech.

Christian never carried the ball in Blacksburg, and he hit the transfer portal this spring. However, there should be plenty of opportunity in Greensboro as new head coach Vincent Brown looks to re-tool the offense as it has to replace Bhayshul Tuten, A&T’s all-American back that ended up at Virginia Tech. 

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

X