Gary Johnson received the nickname of “Big Hands” innocently enough.  In eighth grade, Johnson grabbed a basketball in gym class, and the P.E. teacher yelled the following:

“Get your big hands off my basketball!”

Those meat hooks would be put to good use on the gridiron, first at Grambling, where he was a three-time Little All-American, and then for the San Diego Chargers, who drafted Johnson eighth overall in 1975.

An All-Rookie Selection, Johnson had his first double-digit sack year in 1977 (13.5).  As the Chargers offense improved by a decade’s end under Don Coryell and Quarterback Dan Fouts, the defensive corps also shaped up, making the Bolts serious AFC contenders. 

From 1979 to 1982, Johnson was named to the Pro Bowl, with First Team All-Pros coming his way in 1980 and 1981.  Johnson led the NFL in Sacks in 1980 with 17.5, but the Chargers were unable to get over the hump, and he was able to join the mighty San Francisco 49ers and help them win Super Bowl XIX, where Johnson got three Sacks in that postseason.

Albert Lewis came to the Kansas City Chiefs as a 3^rd Round Pick from Grambling State in 1983.  Playing cornerback, Lewis took over the left side in his second season as a pro, and in the latter half of the 80s he emerged as one of the top Defensive Backs in the National Football League. 

Lewis went to four straight Pro Bowls (1987-90) and was a First Team All-Pro in both 1989 and 1990.  The man-to-man specialist joined the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders for the last five seasons of his career, which spanned 16 seasons and 225 Games.  He would generate 42 Interceptions and 832 Tackles over his career.   Hey, if Jerry Rice calls you the toughest coverage he ever had, that says it all!  Throw in his punt-blocking skills, and you have one of the most underappreciated players ever.

From the town of Grambling, Louisiana, and of course, playing at Grambling State, Paul “Tank” Younger wasn't selected in the 1949 Draft, but he didn’t have to wait long to find a home, as the Los Angeles Rams signed him.

Considered one of the first real NFL stars from a historically black college, Younger was an excellent two-way player who earned Pro Bowl selections (1951-53), first for his defense and later for his work as a Fullback (1955).  Younger was an NFL Champion with L.A. in 1951, the same year he was named a First Team All-Pro Linebacker.   Younger saw more and more rushing action, and he finished in the top seven in Rushing Yards in both 1954 and 1955, with the latter season seeing him lead the NFL in Rushing Yards per Game.  He would finish his career with a year in Pittsburgh and would have 4,807 Yards from Scrimmage over his career.

In the 1980s, the Dallas Cowboys had a slew of excellent defensive players, so cracking the main roster as an undrafted Free Agent was not too likely, though that is exactly what Everson Walls did in 1981.