Jerry LeVias
| No. 23 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth: | September 5, 1946 |
| Place of birth: | Beaumont, Texas |
| Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Hebert High School |
| College: | SMU |
| NFL Draft: | 1969 / Round: 2 / Pick: 40 |
| Career history | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Player stats at PFR | |
Jerry LeVias (born September 5, 1946) is a former American football player. He played college football at Southern Methodist University (SMU). He played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) with the Houston Oilers and in National Football League (NFL) with the Oilers and the San Diego Chargers, LeVias was the first African-American scholarship athlete and second African-American football player in the Southwest Conference.
Born in Beaumont, Texas, LeVias played quarterback for the black Hebert High School there. LeVias was listed as 5'9" and 177 pounds, (but actually measured closer to 5'7" and 140 pounds out of high school) but made up for his size with great speed.
He was recruited to the Southern Methodist University in the spring of 1965 by Coach Hayden Fry. LeVias had over a hundred scholarship offers, but none from the traditional historically black college football powers he expected to play for (like Grambling, Alcorn St., Southern, Prairie View etc.) He was deemed too small by those schools to be offered a football scholarship. Coach Fry saw in LeVias the character, academic potential and skill that would be needed to successfully integrate the Southwest Conference. LeVias had to first win over his freshman football teammates, and that became one of his biggest challenges for this civil rights pioneer. His success, on and off the field, led to a highly anticipated varsity debut in 1966, and quickly became one of the most exciting players in the nation on the conference-champion Mustangs. This first campaign on the varsity squad, LeVias led SMU to their first Cotton Bowl appearance since Heisman winner Doak Walker suited up for the Mustangs, almost two decades earlier. LeVias' touchdowns against rivals Texas, Baylor, Texas A&M and TCU saw the Mustangs earn the conference title in often dramatic fashion. Once LeVias demonstrated his ability on and off the field, Darrell Royal, head coach at the conference power Texas, quipped that Levias no longer looked too small. Speaking with LeVias' high school coach, Royal said, "Well, he didn't sound very big then when you described him, but he looks plenty big to me now." Texas had passed over LeVias, not only due to his size, but because the Longhorns would not integrate their athletic teams until after being named consensus National Champions in 1969. LeVias wore the number 23 (for Psalm 23), which he also wore during his professional career, at his grandmother's insistence.
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