Abraham Honored as ETSU Hall of Famer
UFL St. Louis Battlehawks

Abraham Honored as ETSU Hall of Famer

Published on August 27, 2025 under United Football League (UFL)
St. Louis Battlehawks News Release


Known for his cool demeanor as a Pro Bowl player with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Donnie Abraham has used the same successful approach as defensive coordinator with the St. Louis Battlehawks. But even "The Iceman" couldn't help to let out some emotion upon learning he was part of the East Tennessee State University Athletics Department 2025 Hall of Fame class.

"It's a little bit surreal," shared Abraham. "To finally be recognized by your school for your career, plus what you've done after you graduated. I was a little choked up and humbled."

Under the guise of doing a "Where Are They Now" zoom call with ETSU play-by-play voice Jay Santos, Abraham was instead surprised with the news of his hall of fame induction.

"All of a sudden, Jay's like 'Hey, guess what?'," laughed Abraham. "It's something that I had thought about long ago. I wasn't necessarily an All-American, but I was All-Conference and that helped me leap-frog into the NFL. Then the totality of my career, I'm very honored."

In 1992, Abraham earned the starting job at cornerback in his freshman season and started every game his final three years, earning All-Southern Conference accolades each of those seasons. His 50 career pass deflections was a school record and Abraham ran back three of his 15 interceptions for touchdowns.

Selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round (71st overall) of the 1996 NFL Draft, Abraham tied for the NFL lead with seven interceptions in 1999 was named to the NFL Pro Bowl in 2000. He played his last three seasons with the New York Jets and finished his NFL career with 442 tackles and 38 interceptions in 132 games. His nine seasons in the NFL are the most by an ETSU player.

Abraham also earned two letters with the ETSU track team, reaching the Southern Conference Outdoor Finals in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. More importantly, he met Tunisia Grant, who ran the 400-meter dash and anchored ETSU's 1600 relay championship women's team. After graduating, the couple wed and had three children-Devin, Alivia, and Micah.

In 2023, when Abraham began his stint with St. Louis, eldest son Devin was on the sidelines as the assistant defensive backs coach with the Battlehawks. And this past season in his Week Nine debut with St. Louis, his son Micah, stripped the ball and took the fumble recovery 70-yards to the house against the San Antonio Brahmas-not unlike a 73-yard pick-six his father had in 1995.

"ETSU has done a lot for me, it means a lot to me and my family," said Abraham. "I just want to give back and help."

Abraham and the other four members of his class will officially be inducted into the ETSU Hall of Fame at a ceremony in October.

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United Football League Stories from August 27, 2025


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