GREEN BAY, Wis.- Alabama A&M University senior offensive lineman Carson Vinson was selected on Saturday by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round of the 2025 National Football League (NFL) Draft.
 
The Ravens selected Vinson with the 141^st pick overall. The 6-foot-7, 314-pound offensive lineman, became the 20^thAAMU player selected in the NFL Draft and the first since 2011 when Frank Kearse was chosen by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round. In addition, Vinson became the first Bulldog offensive lineman taken since Joe Patton was selected in the third round by the Washington Redskins.
 
Vinson, who spent all four years at AAMU, is the second player off the board from a Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in this year's draft. Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter began his collegiate career at Jackson State before transferring to Colorado and was taken second overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Shedeur Sanders, a quarterback at JSU for two years before playing his final two years at Colorado, was selected in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns.
 
Vinson was the only HBCU player invited to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis and to the 2025 Reese's Senior Bowl.
 
As a senior, Vinson has racked up multiple postseason honors, including becoming the first HBCU player invited to the 2025 Reese's Senior Bowl, AFCA FCS All-America Second Team and Phil Steele 2024 SWAC Offensive Lineman of the Year, started in all 48 games for the Bulldogs. 
 
The Morrisville, N.C. native has helped the Bulldog offense rank tops in the SWAC in total offense (444.5 yards per game) and passing offense (260.5 yards per game). In addition, the Bulldogs are third in the conference in rushing offense at 184.0 yards per game. He has an 89 percent overall offensive line grade with 61 total knockdowns and allowed just one sack, which was against SEC opponent Auburn in the season opener.
 
About the SWAC
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is considered one of the premier HBCU conferences in the country and currently ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of HBCU alumni playing with professional sports teams.

Current championship competition offered by the league includes competition for men in Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, and Tennis.

Women’s competition is offered in the sports of Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, and Volleyball.

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