The Black College Football Hall of Fame announced their Class of 2022 on Tuesday and Patriots Hall of Famer Ben Coates was named to the list, joined by six other former players and contributors, including well-known NFL players Donald Driver and Nate Newton.
Coates was a 1991 fifth-round pick out of Livingstone College and played nine years with the Patriots, making five Pro Bowls and being named an AP First-Team All-Pro twice. Coates was also a member of both the NFL's and the Patriots' All-Decade team for the 1990s.
The big tight end was a favorite of quarterback Drew Bledsoe, as Coates scored 50 touchdowns during his time in New England. His best statistical season came in 1994 with 96 catches for 1,174 yards and seven touchdowns and after his time with the Patriots he played one season in Baltimore and won a Super Bowl in 2000.
Coates was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2008.
The Class of 2022 will be inducted during the Black College Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony & Juneteenth Celebration, Presented by the Atlanta Falcons on June 18, 2022. The ceremony will take place at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Class of 2022 will make their first public appearance at the inaugural HBCU Legacy Bowl on February 19, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
