Jerry LeVias Jerry LeVias was the first African - American scholarship athlete and second African - American football player in the Southwest Conference . Early years . Born in Beaumont , Texas , LeVias played quarterback for Hebert High School . 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 . College career . 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 Texas would not integrate until after their National Championship in 1969 . LeVias was three times consensus All - SWC , 1966 – 68 , and All - America as a senior . He twice led the league in receiving and held every career record when his three varsity seasons ended , including the single game mark for reception yardage ( when he caught 8 passes for 213 yards against North Carolina State in 1968 . ) LeVias ended his career with a TD catch in SMU ' s scintillating victory over the Oklahoma Sooners in the 1968 Bluebonnet Bowl and followed that as the MVP of the Senior Bowl . On top of these achievements on the field , LeVias was an Academic All - American his senior year . In 2008 , HBO produced a documentary , " Breaking the Huddle : The Integration of College Football " which highlighted Coach Hayden Fry and Jerry LeVias ' struggles while they integrated the Southwest Conference . This struggle was placed amongst the context of other efforts across the nation to desegregate college football . However it should be noted , the first African American to ever play in a football game in the SWC was John Hill Westbrook from Baylor University . Professional career . Levias played his first season ( 1969 with the American Football League ' s Houston Oilers , where he was selected to the 1969 AFL All - Star Team , then was with the NFL Oilers ( 1970 ) and with the NFL San Diego Chargers ( 1971 - 1974 ) . LeVias was an immediate hit with the Oilers , as Sports Illustrated noted in their coverage of the successful pro football rookie class of 1969 , featuring the Oiler flanker . LeVias was responsible for almost half of the Oiler ' yardage in 1970 . The physicality of the pro game wore on LeVias , who famously remarked , " As the season progresses I get lighter , faster and more afraid . " Well versed in avoiding the measuring tape as well as bigger defensive players , one scout claimed to have measured LeVias at 5 ' 8 " 163 . The pro game eventually became unappealing to LeVias , who already prepared for life after football , working for the Conoco oil company and having a partnership in a Houston men ' s clothing store even while playing . After his career ended , LeVias became a successful businessman , a post football career with roots going back to his successful academic studies at SMU . He was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1995 , and to the National College Football Hall of Fame in 2003 .