How Withrow football standout Daniel Ingram ended up at HBCU Arkansas Pine-Bluff

Withrow football coach Kali Jones could be considered a prophet, at least when it comes to his former star quarterback Daniel Ingram.

When Jones, then at Woodward, first met Ingram on a basketball court in 2017, he tried to persuade the rising sophomore to take his talents to the gridiron, offering a promising prediction.

“I told him, ‘if you come with me, I can make you an all-district player,’” Jones recalled.

Committed to strictly hoops, Ingram declined. Eventually, though, he found himself in a Bulldogs uniform. A year later, Jones took some players to a California JUCO program before the 2018 season. When asked about Ingram’s potential, Jones' confidence didn't waver.

“I told them he was gonna be the player of the year in the CMAC,” Jones said. “He has that talent.”

Six months later, Jones was vindicated, going 2-for-2. Ingram threw for 1,160 yards, ran for 944 with 27 touchdowns. He was named CMAC player of the year and was second-team all-district. Ingram followed Jones to Withrow in 2019, where he again garnered all-league and all-district honors.

Jones has been hands-on with Ingram, whether it’s drawing up a play to spring him for a touchdown or aiding him academically. Ingram improved his GPA enough to become Division I eligible.

“He (Jones) has been very helpful in every way — as a father, as a coach, as a teacher and as a mentor," Ingram said. "He guided me in the right position to be successful."

The lone portion of Ingram’s prep career where Jones took a back seat was deciding on a college. Ingram committed to UC, then made headlines when he announced his decision to commit to the University of Arkansas at Pine-Bluff, a Historically Black University.

Ingram’s announcement came shortly after Makur Maker, a five-star forward with NBA potential, shocked college basketball with his commitment to Howard University, a Historically Black University in Washington, D.C. With Ingram and Maker on similar paths, national media outlets came calling. A New York Times article claimed Jones spearheaded Ingram’s decision to follow Maker’s footsteps.

“That’s the furthest thing from the truth,” Jones said. “I was very disappointed.”

So how was the decision actually made? Originally, Arkansas Pine-Bluff was in the mix, among others. When former Withrow quarterback and coach Charles ‘Doc’ Gamble was named the new head coach in April, he made an offer. Ingram researched the school and decided to head south.  

"Wherever he was gonna go, I was gonna support him. We were just as excited for him to have an experience at an HBCU because it’s unique,” Jones said. “We want our athletes to have that freedom and starting the process of adulthood when it comes to gathering information and making a sound decision.”

Contrary to the timeline, Ingram actually made his decision prior to Maker’s commitment to Howard. Before going public, Ingram wanted to convey his gratitude to UC for the walk-on opportunity.

“UC gave him an awesome opportunity. He wanted to make sure he communicated properly, expressing that appreciation and not blind-siding them,” Jones said. “The social justice and Black Lives Matter movement had no impact on his decision. That’s what I expressed to The New York Times – we’re not shallow in our decision-making, where just because the George Floyd situation happened that now he’s making the decision to go to an HBCU. That’s not how the process goes.

“The process for our young men is to gather all the information on an opportunity because it’s a life-changing decision. We don’t minimize it based on what's happening in society. We get information and make an educated decision based on wants, needs and opportunities. I was adamant about expressing that to The (New York) Times, but I guess it was an opportunity to juice up the story.”

Ingram said the decision was based on multiple factors.

“It was to put myself in a good position to be who I want to be in the future and put my family in a situation to be successful,” Ingram said. “I have the chance to play earlier and I always wanted to get out of the city and have an experience where I could meet new people and try new things. Arkansas is a good place for that.”

When Maker announced his commitment to Howard, he said he hoped his decision would inspire other athletes to attend an HBCU. Ingram followed suit, although it wasn't for the same reason. Jones and Ingram each view the movement as an exciting time for the country and as a chance to not only empower black athletes, but to shed the negative stigma surrounding HBCUs. 

“A lot of HBCUs are viewed in a negative light, especially here locally," Jones said. "We all may desire a different experience. That’s the beautiful thing about this country is that we have different cultures and different societies that offer different types of experiences. If a kid gets an offer from Grambling State, I treat it the same way as Ohio State.

"When we are preaching diversity and really pushing our student-athletes to explore and expose themselves to different opportunities, it should not be on the back burner or looked at as second-class because it’s an HBCU."

In June, Mikey Williams, a nationally-ranked basketball recruit, tweeted "Going to an HBCU wouldn't be too bad." Jones and Ingram both feel that the movement for athletes pursuing HBCUs is a paradigm shift, decisions that could alter the landscape of college athletics for years. It shouldn't be attached with a phrase that hints at a supposed inferior status. 

"I was surprised when he said that," Ingram said. "I'm just surprised to see something like this where we're in a world with us teenagers and we're making such a big decision for our entire life. I'm very excited."

Jones added: "We're really pushing empowerment; that's the world we're living in. Why not an HBCU? That's the beauty of this movement: it only takes one person. We are just seeing the beginning and these athletes are trailblazers. We shouldn't describe it as 'not that bad.' That's how our young men have been programmed about universities that cater to them! It shouldn’t be that way."