Former Steelers linebacker Greg Lloyd will be inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame (BCFHOF) as a part of its Class of 2018. Lloyd will be among seven inductees who will be enshrined on Feb. 10, 2018.
Lloyd attended Fort Valley State in Georgia, a Division II school, where he flourished. He was a three-time All-SIAC selection and in his senior season he was named the SIAC Player of the Year.
"I still felt like coming out of college I got disrespected," said Lloyd. "Schools where I wanted to go, weren't interested in me. I was the number two linebacker coming out of high school, but schools thought I was too small. I came in with a chip on my shoulder. I thought other linebackers that came in that year didn't have anything on me other than they went to Alabama, Georgia, or Florida. Back then I just wanted to play, but still had that chip on my shoulder. People would ask about Fort Valley State College. In practice I would be like, I am going to show them what Fort Valley State is all about."
Lloyd did just that. He was selected by the Steelers in the sixth-round of the 1988 NFL Draft, and played for them for 10 seasons, a total of 11 seasons in the NFL. He was a five-time Pro Bowl selection, and three-time All-Pro, 1993-95. He was voted the Steelers MVP twice (1991, 1994) and was a member of the Steelers All-Time Team that was named as part of the team's 75th season in 2007.
Lloyd was a menacing force for the Steelers defense, one who never backed down and held up the legacy of the team's tough linebackers.
"I didn't understand that legacy until I started playing," said Lloyd, also a nominee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. "Until I started hearing the history, and you understand the history and read the history. I think that is some of the things we talk about when we talk to our kids about history. They want to know why we need to learn about history, I am never going to use that. We tell them it teaches them to not make the same mistakes others made. Well, in this case, I wanted to repeat what those guys had done. That is what studying history, studying those guys did. It taught us how to play the game, how to study the game, study your opponent, but more important how to become a teammate.
"I wanted what they had in the 1970s, I wanted somebody to wear my jersey. I wanted to look up in the stands and see No. 95. You had to put the work in. That is what the offseason and practice was about.
"Honestly, being a part of the Steelers linebacker legacy, I feel privileged and humbled at the same time."
The other members of the Class of 2018 include Harold Carmichael (Southern), Raymond Chester (Morgan State),*Thomas Henderson (Langston), *Leo Lewis (Lincoln), Everson Walls (Grambling State) and Coach Bill Hayes (Winston-Salem State and North Carolina A&T).
For more information visit www.BlackCollegeFootballHOF.org.
