Jimmy Smith, Tyrone Poole and Nick Collins, who went on to standout NFL careers, are among the Black College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 announced on Thursday.
Also to be inducted at the June 6 ceremony in Atlanta are former Alabama A&M linebacker and current head coach Eddie Robinson Jr., former Florida A&M coach Rudy Hubbard and the NFL Network’s Steve Wyche as a contributor.
“What we have with the Class of 2026 is an incredible showcase of excellence, leadership and impact that continues to come from Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” said Doug Williams, Black College Football Hall of Fame co-founder and a 2011 inductee. “When the Black College Hall of Fame was established, its purpose was to elevate and recognize the past, present and future of Black College Football. This class exemplifies that mission.”
Smith, now 56, became a starter at Jackson State as a junior and caught a team-high 40 passes for 877 yards (21.3-yard average) and nine touchdowns. He made 43 receptions as a senior for 801 yards and three TDs. Smith finished his career with 110 receptions, 2,073 yards and 16 TDs. Smith was named to the Jackson State University All-Century team.
The Dallas Cowboys selected Smith in the second round (36th overall) of the 1992 NFL Draft and he played there his rookie season. But he made his biggest impact with the Jacksonville Jaguars (1995-2005), catching 862 passes for 12,287 yards and 67 TDs in 171 regular-season games (150 starts). He was voted to five Pro Bowls and was second-team All-Pro in 1998 and 1999.
Robinson, now 55, walked on at Alabama State and was a two-time All-Southwestern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year, a Sheridan All-American and, at age 28, the youngest inductee into the SWAC Hall of Fame.
He played linebacker in the NFL for Houston Oilers (1992-95), Jacksonville (1996-97), Tennessee Oilers/Titans (1998-2001) and Buffalo Bills (2002). Robinson totaled 804 tackles, 23 sacks, six forced fumbles, 12 fumble recoveries and six interceptions — one returned for a touchdown — in 175 regular-season games (163 starts).
Robinson became head coach of at his alma mater in November 2021.
Poole, who will be 54 on Feb. 3, was a four-year starter at Fort Valley State and became the first player in school history to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft — 22nd overall by the Carolina Panthers in 1995.
Also a former track star, Poole was inducted into the NCAA Division II Football Hall of Fame and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. He also received recognition from the Fort Valley State Black College Alumni Hall of Fame.
Poole played defensive back for Carolina (1995-97), the Indianapolis Colts (1998-2000), Denver Broncos (2002), New England Patriots (2003-05), Oakland Raiders (2006) and Tennessee (2008). He totaled 486 tackles, six sacks, 61 passes defended and 18 interceptions.
Poole is currently in his first season as Alabama State’s women’s flag football coach.
Collins, now 42, was a free safety at Bethune-Cookman and earned All-MEAC honors and was inducted into the university’s athletics hall of fame.
The Green Bay Packers selected him in the second round of the 2005 draft. He played seven years in the NFL, all in Green Bay, and totaled 421 tackles, 68 passes defended and 21 interceptions. A three-time Pro Bowl and three-time second-team All-Pro safety, Collins won a Super Bowl with the Packers in the 2010 season, returning an interception 37 yards for a touchdown in a 31-25 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Hubbard was Florida A&M’s head coach from 1974-85, compiling an 83-48-3 record that includes the inaugural NCAA Division I-AA championship in 1978 and back-to-back Black College national titles in 1977-78.
His Rattlers also won five consecutive Orange Blossom Classic games (1974-78). Hubbard was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2021. Hubbard played running back at Ohio State, earning letters in 1965-67, and later became the first African-American assistant coach on Woody Hayes’ staff.
Wyche, 59, is the chief national reporter and senior NFL media analyst for NFL Network and NFL.com, where he has worked since 2008. A 1989 Howard University graduate with a degree in journalism, Wyche wrote for various daily newspapers including the Miami Herald, The Washington Post and Atlanta Journal-Constitution before working as a correspondent for ESPN in 2007.
The Black College Football Hall of Fame, founded in 2009, has a permanent home at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
The Class of 2026 will be recognized during halftime of the fifth annual HBCU Legacy Bowl on Feb. 21 at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans (4 p.m. ET, NFL Network).
–Field Level Media
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