One of the greatest defensive players in NFL and HBCU football history received football’s highest honor Saturday.
Former Jackson State linebacker Robert Brazile was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“That’s a phone call I’d been waiting on for years, to say that I’m being considered to go into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Brazile told AL.com back in January. “It means so much to me to try to sum it up in one word, I just can’t do it. I get all types of emotions with it, feelings that normally I don’t have. I’m so excited, and not just for Robert Brazile. This award is going to touch the city of Mobile, my children, my family, my coaches, my teammates, my college. It’s a lot of people involved in it.”
Brazile, 64, becomes the fourth player from Jackson State to represent the school in the Hall of Fame, joining Jackie Slater, Walter Payton and Lem Barney.
“When I think of Jackson, I think of the championships and the group of guys I played with,” Brazile said. “I played with two guys — Jackie Slater and Walter Payton — that’re already Hall of Famers. And I think we had more Pro Bowlers and Hall of Famers on that team. People don’t know this, but at one time with the Houston Oilers, we had four guys from Jackson State. Two guys from Mobile – Richard Caster and myself — Vernon Perry and Leon Gray.”
Selected in the first round of the 1975 draft by the then-Houston Oilers, Brazile — nicknamed “Dr. Doom” — played ten seasons in the NFL, being named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, making seven Pro Bowl appearances and picked to the NFL’s 1970s All-Decade Team.
