Where They Stand
Grambling State is done rebuilding — Mickey Joseph said so himself. Year three of the Joseph era opened with a 49-7 dismantling of Clark Atlanta, and it follows a 7-5 campaign in 2025 that was the program's first winning season since 2019 and its most victories since the 2017 SWAC and Black college national championship team. The Tigers were picked second in the SWAC West preseason poll, and the message inside the building is plain: the gap to Prairie View A&M is closed, and this is the year to win it all.
The quarterback room is the story of the fall. Southern Miss transfer Jacobe Robinson opened as the favorite, but Florida A&M transfer RJ Johnson — 2,597 yards and 18 touchdowns a year ago — plus returners Hayden Benoit and Ashton Frye give Joseph four live arms. Running backs Andre Crews and Byron Eaton Jr. return, Nebraska transfer Jamarion Parker adds pedigree, and linebacker Marcellius Johnson anchors a defense that led the SWAC in sacks last season. The schedule is unforgiving early — a trip to TCU, the State Fair Classic against defending champion Prairie View A&M — and it ends where it always ends: the Bayou Classic against Southern, the 52nd edition, November 28 in New Orleans.
The Story of Grambling State Tigers
Grambling State is the standard against which all Black college football is measured. Founded in 1901 and playing football since 1928, the Tigers became a national institution under Eddie Robinson, who coached for 56 seasons from 1941 to 1997 and retired with 408 victories — then the most in college football history. Robinson's teams won nine Black college national championships and 17 SWAC titles, and his 27 consecutive winning seasons from 1960 to 1986 remain one of the great runs the sport has ever seen.
The pipeline Robinson built is unmatched: more than 200 of his players reached the NFL, including four Pro Football Hall of Famers — Willie Davis, Buck Buchanan, Willie Brown and Charlie Joiner — plus Super Bowl XXII MVP Doug Williams and trailblazing quarterback James "Shack" Harris, the first Black quarterback to start regularly in pro football. The program claims 15 Black college national championships, more than any school in history, and its most recent came in 2017 under Broderick Fobbs.
Grambling's traditions are woven into American sports culture. Every Thanksgiving weekend the Tigers meet Southern in the Bayou Classic at the Caesars Superdome — a rivalry and a weekend that transcends football — and the annual State Fair Classic against Prairie View A&M fills the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The World Famed Tiger Marching Band is as famous as the team itself. Through coaching changes and lean years, the expectation in Grambling, Louisiana, has never moved: championships, or it wasn't good enough.
Past Coaches
All-Time Team
Doug Williams
Threw for 8,000+ yards and 93 touchdowns, went 35-5 as a starter, finished fourth in 1977 Heisman voting — then became the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl (XXII MVP).
James "Shack" Harris
The first Black quarterback to start regularly in pro football; a pioneer whose pro career opened doors Williams later walked through.
Paul "Tank" Younger
College Football Hall of Famer; one of the first great power backs of the Black college game and a Los Angeles Rams star.
Charlie Joiner
Pro Football Hall of Famer; 750 career NFL receptions over 18 seasons, three-time Pro Bowler with the Chargers.
Sammy White
Second-round pick who became a Pro Bowl receiver for the Minnesota Vikings.
Willie Davis
Pro Football Hall of Famer; anchor of Vince Lombardi's Packers dynasty, five championships, NFL 1960s All-Decade Team.
Buck Buchanan
Pro Football Hall of Famer; the first Black player taken No. 1 overall in pro football (1963 AFL draft), Super Bowl IV champion with Kansas City.
Ernie "Big Cat" Ladd
At 6-foot-9 one of the most physically imposing linemen of his era; helped the Chargers win the 1963 AFL championship.
Willie Brown
Pro Football Hall of Famer; 54 career interceptions, and his 75-yard pick-six sealed Super Bowl XI for the Raiders.
Albert Lewis
Four-time Pro Bowler; 42 interceptions over 225 NFL games with Kansas City and Oakland.
Everson Walls
Cowboys All-Pro; led the NFL in interceptions three times in the 1980s.
Names to Know
Jacobe Robinson
Junior; Southern Miss transfer — opened 2026 as the favorite to start.
RJ Johnson
Redshirt junior; FAMU transfer — threw for 2,597 yards and 18 TDs in 2025.
Hayden Benoit
Sophomore; took over as starter late in 2025 after injuries — 674 yards, 6 TDs.
Ashton Frye
Redshirt junior; started games in 2025 — 142 yards, 1 TD on 17-of-26 passing.
Andre Crews
Redshirt sophomore; the team's second-leading rusher in 2025.
Byron Eaton Jr.
Redshirt sophomore; third-leading rusher in 2025.
Jamarion Parker
Nebraska transfer; four-star recruit out of high school.
Tyson George
Redshirt sophomore; second-leading receiver in 2025 — 30 catches, 407 yards.
Jordan Bride
19 catches for 186 yards and a TD in 2025.
Alexander Vigil
Senior; preseason second-team All-SWAC.
Marcellius Johnson
Redshirt senior; preseason second-team All-SWAC — leads the defense.
Jon Horton
Graduate; 6.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss in 2025.
Past Seasons
Season Stats
| Season | Record | Conference | Finish | Head coach | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7–5 | 4–4 SWAC | T–3rd (West) | Mickey Joseph | First winning season since 2019 |
| 2024 | 5–7 | 2–6 SWAC | T–5th (West) | Mickey Joseph | |
| 2023 | 5–6 | 4–4 SWAC | Hue Jackson |
Schedule
Team News
Year 3 means 'go win it all' for Mickey Joseph and Grambling State
HBCU Sports breaks down the Tigers' 2026 roster, the QB battle and the closing SWAC West gap.
Read the story →Grambling State opens 2026 season at home against Clark Atlanta
Previewing the opener: a four-man QB competition and a defense that led the SWAC in sacks.
Read the story →Grambling moves forward with Mickey Joseph as contract talks continue
Athletic director Trayveon Scott on the extension talks: 'I like the momentum around the program.'
Read the story →Five things to know about Grambling State
Eleven Warriors' primer before the Tigers' 2025 trip to Ohio State — the history, the band, the standard.
Read the story →