We are on the countdown to the annual HBCU Legacy Bowl, where the best and brightest draft-eligible players in black college football will put their talents on display for the top pro scouts and the world to see.
However, before we get to the game, there will be the business of handing out the Deacon Jones trophy, awarded to the top player in HBCU football during the 2025 season.
Here are the five candidates with the strongest case to win the award.
5. Isaiah Knowles, QB, Albany State
Best Performance: 9/6 vs. Kentucky State
The 2025 HBCU football season was historic for the Albany State Golden Rams, as they recorded a school record 12 wins and advanced to the Regional Final of the Division II Playoffs.
Despite enduring injury problems throughout the year, quarterback Isaiah Knowles was a driving force behind the Golden Rams’ success.
Knowles posted 2,151 passing yards, completing 62% of his passes, and scoring 18 touchdowns to just six interceptions. He also rushed for 285 yards, adding eight more touchdowns on the ground.
The SIAC Offensive Player of the Year was at his most surgical in the team’s dominant 49-21 win over Kentucky State.
He threw for a season-high 304 yards on 74% completions, adding 89 rushing yards, and scoring seven total touchdowns (six passing touchdowns).
As remarkable as Knowles’ year was, a full season would have strengthened his argument as a contender for the Deacon Jones trophy.
4. Marquis Gillis, RB, Delaware State
Best Performance: 10/25 vs. North Carolina Central
In their first season under head coach DeSean Jackson, the Delaware State Hornets blew away expectations, improving from 1-11 to 8-4, falling one win short of a MEAC championship.
Their run offense was a primary reason for their success, leading the FCS ranks with an average of 291.2 yards per game.
Leading the charge for the Hornets was All-MEAC running back Marquis Gillis, rushing for a MEAC-leading 1,166 yards and scoring eight touchdowns.
This included seven 100-yard rushing performances, with his lowest of those totals arguably being his most impressive and impactful performance of the year.
In their conference-opener over North Carolina Central, Gillis rushed for 108 yards on 21 attempts, scoring a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to help his team clinch the win.
Beyond being an integral part of Delaware State defying expectations after being picked to finish last in the MEAC in the preseason, Gillis was the undisputed top running back in Division I HBCU football.
3. Andrew Body, QB, Alabama State
Best Performance: 8/28 vs. UAB
Despite his season being cut short due to injury, Alabama State quarterback Andrew Body did more than enough to warrant consideration for being named the Black College Football Player of the Year.
Limited to just eight games, Body still found a way to lead the SWAC with 20 passing touchdowns while throwing just one interception.
The SWAC Player of the Year accounted for over 300 passing yards in three outings this season while also rushing for over 90 yards three times.
Body foreshadowed his breakout year with a dynamic season-opening performance against FBS opponent University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB).
He tallied 312 passing yards, completing 75% of his passes, and scoring four touchdowns without an interception. He also rushed for 119 yards on 16 attempts, including a 60-yard touchdown.
Even in a shortened season, Body was miles ahead of almost every quarterback in HBCU football, showcasing his dynamic two-way play to help deliver Alabama State its first 10-win season since 2004.
2. Walker Harris, QB, North Carolina Central
Best Performance: 9/20 vs. North Carolina A&T
Walker Harris ended his college career with a spectacular performance, producing career numbers across the board and ranking among the top passers in the country.
The senior quarterback set a North Carolina Central single-season record with 3,214 passing yards on 62% completions, tossing 24 touchdowns to just nine interceptions.
Harris ranked sixth in passing yards per game (267.8) and tied for 18th in passing touchdowns. He was named the MEAC Player of the Year.
Of the Eagles’ stars’ four 300-yard passing performances this year, none were more surgical than his demolition of rival North Carolina A&T.
The MEAC Player of the Year carved the Aggies up with 380 yards on 76% completions, scoring three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Harris’s efficiency, in addition to producing off-the-charts passing totals, serves as a reason for him being a top candidate for the Deacon Jones trophy.
Any other year, he could have been at the top of the list if not for a history-making season by a Division II running back.
1. Curtis Allen, RB, Virginia Union
Best Performance: 11/1 vs. Bluefield State
Virginia Union running back Curtis Allen was, without a doubt, the best player in black college football’s 2025 season, and is the most deserving of winning the Deacon Jones trophy.
From start to finish, the Panthers’ running back was the most consistent player across the board, producing record-setting numbers in virtually every rushing category.
Allen set new CIAA single-season records with 2,409 rushing yards and 30 rushing touchdowns, leading all of Division II in each category.
This included rushing for over 100 yards and scoring a touchdown in every game, scoring multiple touchdowns in all but two games.
In addition to being named CIAA Offensive Player of the Year, he was also named Super Region I Offensive Player of the Year and became the first HBCU player to win the Harlon Hill trophy.
In the penultimate game of the regular season against Bluefield State, Allen set a CIAA single-game record with 369 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
Should Allen win the award, it would mark the first time that two different players from the same school won it in consecutive years (Jada Byers, 2024).
