{"id":728673,"date":"2026-02-04T11:51:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T11:51:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/728673\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T11:51:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T11:51:22","slug":"atlanta-falcons-celebrate-black-history-month-with-hbcu-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/728673\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlanta Falcons Celebrate Black History Month with HBCU Visit"},"content":{"rendered":"

During Black History Month, the Atlanta Falcons didn\u2019t just post a graphic or drop a commemorative video. Instead, they went back to the source<\/a>. The organization traveled to Prairie View A&M University, highlighting the HBCU football journey of Falcons wide receiver and Pro Bowl special teamer<\/a> KhaDarel Hodge\u2014and in the process, shined a national spotlight on the role Historically Black Colleges and Universities continue to play in the NFL.<\/p>\n

The visit, documented through team video and editorial coverage, offered a rare inside look at how one HBCU helped shape an NFL career\u2014and why those roots still matter.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

From small-town Mississippi to the NFL<\/p>\n

Hodge\u2019s path to the league was never linear. He grew up in a Mississippi town of roughly 300 people and initially committed to Alcorn State, inspired by his late cousin, NFL legend Steve McNair.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started out at Alcorn,\u201d Hodge said in the Falcons\u2019 video. \u201cThat was my decision coming out of high school because my late cousin Steve McNair was a quarterback, and I was a quarterback.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a redshirt season and a stop at junior college, Hodge found his footing at Prairie View A&M\u2014where his career, and identity, took shape.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re here at my alma mater, Prairie View,\u201d Hodge said. \u201cI\u2019m going to take you around campus right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he walked through the athletic facilities and back onto the field, the emotion was evident.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels good to be back,\u201d he said. \u201cYou kind of get chills just getting closer to the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where I grew up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hodge\u2019s return to Prairie View during Black History Month wasn\u2019t symbolic\u2014it was personal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where I grew up,\u201d Hodge said during his visit. \u201cI became a man here at PV.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sentiment echoed throughout both the video and the Atlanta Falcons\u2019 written feature, which traced how Prairie View A&M helped turn potential into production. By the time Hodge finished his college career, he had totaled 1,797 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns, earning first-team All-SWAC honors and Black College All-American recognition.<\/p>\n

But the impact went beyond football.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came here an athletic student,\u201d Hodge said in the video. \u201cI left a student-athlete. They didn\u2019t play about the grades.\u201d<\/p>\n

That balance, he explained, is central to the HBCU football experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing, if we get parents to send their kid here, we got to get them a degree,\u201d Hodge said. \u201cSchool first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Changing the narrative around HBCUs<\/p>\n

Throughout the Falcons\u2019 Black History Month feature, Hodge directly addressed how HBCU athletes are viewed\u2014and undervalued\u2014within the broader football ecosystem.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that HBCU athletes are slept on,\u201d Hodge said. \u201cYou just gotta take that to heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite going undrafted in 2018, KhaDarel Hodge carved out an NFL career through persistence, eventually landing in Atlanta in 2022 and establishing himself as one of the league\u2019s most reliable special teams contributors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re D1 just like y\u2019all are D1,\u201d Hodge said. \u201c(Other programs) probably have a little more resources than we have right now, but we are just as good as you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Falcons\u2019 feature also underscored how systemic change is slowly taking place. The NFL launched its annual HBCU Combine in 2022, while organizations like HBCU Elite\u2014which Hodge partnered with during My Cause My Cleats\u2014continue to increase exposure.<\/p>\n

\"AtlantaImage Courtesy of Atlanta Falcons<\/p>\n

HBCUs and the NFL\u2019s foundation<\/p>\n

The Falcons\u2019 article placed Hodge\u2019s story within a larger historical context\u2014one that many fans may not fully realize.<\/p>\n

Since 2010, only 36 HBCU players have been drafted into the NFL. Yet nearly 10% of the Pro Football Hall of Fame members attended HBCUs.<\/p>\n

Legends like Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State), Michael Strahan (Texas Southern), Bob Hayes (Florida A&M), and Walter Payton (Jackson State) all trace their roots back to HBCU campuses.<\/p>\n

Those institutions, the Falcons noted, remain \u201cessential threads in the fabric of the NFL\u2019s history.\u201d<\/p>\n

For KhaDarel Hodge, Prairie View A&M is one of those threads\u2014and one he proudly carries.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came here lost,\u201d Hodge said. \u201cI didn\u2019t really know what I was going to do as far as my football career or academically.\u201d<\/p>\n

He paused, then added:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where I found who I was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During Black History Month, the Atlanta Falcons didn\u2019t just post a graphic or drop a commemorative video. Instead,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":728674,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2074],"tags":[223,254,2554,104240,224,198,7,15970,11414,6,19397,6025],"class_list":["post-728673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-atlanta-falcons","tag-atlanta","tag-atlanta-falcons","tag-atlantafalcons","tag-black-history-month","tag-falcons","tag-featured","tag-football","tag-hbcu-football","tag-khadarel-hodge","tag-nfl","tag-prairie-view-am","tag-swac"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116012220710837912","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=728673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/728674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=728673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=728673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=728673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}