USD Football 1994

T hey played for schools with strange-sounding, unfamiliar names, schools with letters like A&I in their titles. There were no hundreds of thousands of fans cheering them, no big con- tracts awaiting them when they came out of college. Some- times, there was no pro team that wanted them. But the following 12 players are just some of the more than 25 NFL Hall of Famers who played their college football at NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) schools-schools that don't have the budget of their big- time counterparts, but have never been lacking in enthusi- asm or excitement-or quality players. Here's a look at 12 of the greatest to have played for NAIA schools-all of them NFL Hall of Fame choices. Walter Payton: He is men- tioned in the same breath as the all-time great NFL running backs, with good reason: Walter Payton continued the proud tra- dition of superlative Chicago Bears' running backs, taking over where the great Gale Say- ers left off. Payton-also known as one of the classiest NFL play- ers of his day- differs from other NAIA players in that he was not an unknown coming out of Jackson State. His 3,563 yards rushing, an average of over 6 yards per carry, con- tributed greatly to his being the fourth pick in the 1975 draft, and the first running back selected. Mel Blount: His shaved head became a symbol of the Pittsburgh Steelers' swagger long before the bald look was fashionable. Blount, one of the greatest defensive backs ever to play the game, was a vital cog in the Steelers' Super Bowl domi- nance of the '70s. He played his college football at Southern Louisiana before being drafted by the Steelers.

While most roads to NFL stardom begin at big schools, the NAIA has hadmore than its share

of NFL greats. Oakland, where he earned his spot in the Hall of Fame. How good was Willie Brown? This good: he played for 16 seasons (1963-78), and in each of them, he had at least one intercep- tion-a record unmatched by any defensive back. Also con- sider this: in 1971, statistics compiled by the Raiders revealed that only 10 passes had been completed by opposing quarterbacks in his area. Roosevelt Brown: A 27th- round draft pick from Morgan State (Md.), Roosevelt Brown came to the New York Giants unheralded and virtually unknown, but went on to become their starting offensive right tackle for 13 years, and a near-unanimous All-Pro pick for eight straight years (1956- 63). He was only the second player to be named to the Foot- ball Hall of Fame (in 1975) based strictly on his offensive line play, and with good rea- son. He was the fastest big man of his time and an absolute ter- ror of a blocker when he pulled out to run interference for guys like Frank Gifford and Pat Summerall. Earl "Dutch" Clark: A product of tiny Colorado Col- lege, Earl "Dutch" Clark is most noted for his play with Detroit from 1934-38, when he was a triple (pass, run, kick) threat. The 6-0, 185-lb. Clark had his best year in 1936, when he rushed for 628 yards (third best in the league) and led the Lions in passing, completing 53.5% of his passes-at a time when the league average was only 36.5% ! He had left pro football in 1932 to coach at the Colorado School of Mines, but returned to the NFL two years later and doubled as the Lions' continued

Before becoming a Chicago Bear and the NFL's all-time leading rusher, Walter Payton was a flying Tiger at Jackson State.

Payton-also known as one of the classiest NFL players of his day- differs from other NAIA players in that he was not an unknown coming out of Jackson State.

Willie Brown: A tight end at Grambling College, Willie Brown is best known as the man who reinvented the posi- tion of defensive back in the NFL. He is truly the father of the bump-and-run, a technique he perfected during his glory

years with the Oakland Raiders. Undrafted out of college, Brown hooked on with the Houston Oilers in 1963 as a free agent. Without ever playing a down for the team, he went to Den- ver, where he played for four years. Then, he was traded to