A large segment of HBO's Breaking the Huddle: The Integration of College Football, which debuts tonight at 10, deals with the Atlantic Coast Conference's first black player, Maryland's Darryl Hill, and that isn't the only content related to the state. The great linebacker Willie Lanier talks about playing for the powerful Morgan State program, and former Baltimore Colts defensive lineman Bubba Smith describes the culture shock of leaving Beaumont, Texas, for the northern outpost of Michigan State.

Breaking the Huddle, like just about every sports documentary HBO produces, is worthwhile viewing. The trailblazing players describe their struggles, often with their emotions still bubbling near the surface. The context of the times in the Atlantic Coast, Southeastern and Southwest conferences is framed with sometimes chilling news footage.

Legendary Alabama coach Bear Bryant emerges as an ambiguous figure in relation to integration. We are told Bryant wanted to have African-American players on his teams as far back as when he was the coach at Kentucky, where he was rebuffed by the school president, who feared the university would be kicked out of the SEC. However, a former student activist at Alabama recalls asking Bryant about integrating his all-white team and being told by the coach he couldn't find black players.

The documentary concludes with the 1970 Southern Cal at Alabama game, in which a Trojans squad stocked with African-Americans -- including at quarterback -- defeated the Tide, thus convincing the 'Bama faithful that it was time to integrate, because the team needed its own version of Sam "Bam" Cunningham, USC's stellar running back.