The Alabama A&M Bulldogs football program has been blessed to have a signal caller like Aqeel Glass the past few seasons. The strong-armed Glass led the Bulldogs to the 2021 Spring SWAC title and set numerous records during his time in Huntsville.
He was also named SWAC Player of the Year back-to-back years and Black College Football Player of the Year in his junior and senior seasons. The St. Louis native is hoping to follow in the footsteps of James “Shack” Harris, a Grambling State alumnus who was the first permanent Black starting quarterback in NFL History. Doug Williams is another Grambling alumnus forever known as the first Black signal caller to win a Super Bowl and be named Super Bowl MVP.
Aqeel Glass (@AamufbR) throws a perfect ball and Trey Harrell (@UAPBFootball_) hauls it in for some YAC.
📺: @HBCULegacyBowl on @NFLNetwork pic.twitter.com/C3ziCAYCQO
— NFL (@NFL) February 19, 2022
Then there’s the late, great Steve McNair, the Alcorn State great who was named SWAC Player of the Year all four years of his collegiate career. He was also NFL MVP in 2003. Glass is hoping for an opportunity to showcase his talents on Sundays. From the tape he’s accrued he’s more than capable of playing at the next level.
In a February interview, a confident Glass spoke glowingly of his abilities.
“The film speaks for itself. Everybody knows I can throw the ball. I love the chess match, the game between the coordinators as they try to create schemes to beat us and understand what we want to do. I love to compete at anything, even table tennis. I learned a lot from Coach [Connell] Maynor. He’s a great man.
“He taught me a lot on and off the field. He’s been able to help me progress in my game. He played quarterback. To be able to pick his brain has always been great. He competes at everything. I could be in the weight room lifting weights, and he’ll say I can do that, and he’ll get down there and lift the weight. He sets a great example.”
THANK YOU BULLDOG NATION 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/hZzvxuESIx
— Alabama A&M Football (@AamufbR) November 20, 2021
Glass Should’ve Been Invited To NFL Combine
Glass possesses elite arm strength, size and incredible leadership. In his career at Alabama A&M he passed for 12,136 yards, 109 touchdowns and 41 interceptions, while completing 60 percent of his passes. While Glass isn’t that mobile, he does a great job of manipulating the pocket with sound technique and footwork.
The savvy signal caller unfathomably wasn’t one of the 15 quarterbacks invited to the NFL Combine in February. However, if you look closely at this crop of passers, he’s easily top seven. In terms of playing the position from the neck up, he’s top five.
Glass participated in the HBCU Combine, Legacy Bowl and Reese’s Senior Bowl. Glass wasn’t his usual sharp self, going 6-for-15 for 61 yards and one touchdown in the Legacy Bowl, but his confidence hasn’t wavered once.
“I feel like I’m the best in the draft, and I’ll stand by that,” Glass said in a phone interview. “I feel like my numbers show that, my film shows that, and wherever I go my future will show that.”
“At the end of the day football is football. If you can play you can play. I’ve always been a guy who has been under-appreciated, under-recruited, kinda unknown in a way. But I’ve always made sure people know my name at the end of the day. That’s what I do.”
All eyes on QBL Draft Prep, @Aqeel_Glass4 💫
No HBCU QB has been drafted in 16 years. It’s time to change that 🔥
Read the full article with the link below 👇👇👇👇https://t.co/CYKY2dIoOs pic.twitter.com/CTs3x9GyN1
— THE QB LEGACY 💫 (@LegacyQb) April 13, 2022
Glass is hoping for just one opportunity to show the league what he can do. Based on his game film and collegiate career, he’s more than deserving of that chance.
