"Oh, I remember you down in Jacksonville."
When Southern University Head Coach Bob Smith went to recruit a player at Raines High School in Jacksonville, there was another player who was persistent in trying to get Smith's attention.
It was hard to ignore the overtures from Harold Carmichael, who would become the tallest wide receiver in NFL history at 6-foot-8. But on this day, Carmichael was a quarterback who Coach Smith didn't have time to entertain.
Carmichael didn't take no for an answer. After graduating from Raines in 1967, he bought a ticket and boarded a train for an 18-hour ride to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, along with the actual Southern football recruits for the start of Training Camp. When the train arrived, there was a player there to pick them all up. He checked all of the names on the list.
Carmichael was still standing there.
Fortunately, they didn't desert Carmichael or make him take the 18-hour train ride back home.
Once they arrived on campus, the same process happened as the players were provided dorm keys. No, there was no Harold Carmichael on the list. He was sent to Coach Smith's office, who could only shake his head. Carmichael was already there. Might as well give him a chance.
There was no Option B for Carmichael. Sure, he had basketball scholarships, but he wanted to play football. At Southern, one of the HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). All Carmichael wanted was an opportunity.
"Once I got on the practice field, I didn't think anyone could out-catch me," Carmichael said. "I didn't have the speed. I had to figure out other ways to show what I could do and that was catching the ball."
Needless to say, Carmichael made the team as a walk-on. Today, Carmichael is a member of the Black College Hall of Fame, the Eagles Hall of Fame, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
A seventh-round pick of the Eagles in 1971, Carmichael remains the franchise's all-time leader in career receptions (589), receiving yards (5,879), and receiving touchdowns (79). He was a member of the All-Decade Team for the 1970s and named the NFL Man of the Year (now the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year) in 1980. Carmichael helped turn around a franchise that had not won a playoff game since the 1960 NFL Championship. He owes his success to the foundation built by going to an HBCU.
"It was pretty much only the Black colleges offering me scholarships," Carmichael said. "There weren't too many Black players going to Florida State, Miami, or the University of Florida. That wasn't an option for us. I've been very fortunate to achieve all of those accolades and very blessed to be able to go to Southern University, one of the top Black colleges in the United States.
"That HBCU experience, I'd do it over and over and over again if I had that opportunity. I love what they did for me, the opportunity they gave me, love that they showed towards me."
Carmichael was part of the first Eagles team to reach the Super Bowl in the 1980 season. That game happened to be in the same stadium where the Eagles will play for the Super Bowl title a week from Sunday in New Orleans, about an 80-minute drive from Southern. Carmichael recalls attending the Mardi Gras festivities while at Southern.
"The best place to go in New Orleans is in some of the Black neighborhoods and some of the small parades that they had. It is the greatest experience. To eat real, home-cooked food is awesome," Carmichael said. "We have the cheesesteaks and hoagies here (in Philadelphia). Down there, they have the po'boys. Fans have to experience the po'boys, the jambalaya, the boudin, the gumbo."
No. 17 will be in New Orleans to cheer on the Eagles, hoping that they can bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Philadelphia for a massive parade.
"We went out and we were pretty tight. We just didn't get the job done. I'm just hoping we can go down there next week and bring back a win," Carmichael said, reflecting his Super Bowl experience. "Don't try to do too much. Do what you're asked to do and stay in your lane and I think we'll be fine. We got a very smart group of guys that can play the game."
