Alabama Roots: Super Bowl LVII connections
Ten players from Alabama high schools and colleges are on the active rosters of the Super Bowl teams for this season’s NFL championship game.
The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will square off at 5:30 p.m. CST Feb. 12 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, to determine the champion of the NFL’s 2022 season.
Those with Alabama football roots eligible to play in Super Bowl LVII include:
· Eagles safety Reed Blankenship (West Limestone) made Philadephia’s roster coming out of the preseason as an undrafted rookie, has played in 12 games and started five contests, including last week’s playoff victory over the New York Giants. In Sunday’s NFC Championship Game, Blankenship ended the San Francisco 49ers’ final possession by forcing and recovering a fumble while making a tackle for a 7-yard loss.
· Eagles cornerback James Bradberry (Pleasant Grove, Samford) was released by the New York Giants in a salary-cap decision in May and signed a one-year contract with Philadelphia. In his seventh NFL season, Bradberry has started every game and received second-team recognition on the AP’s All-Pro team for the 2022 season.
· Eagles guard Landon Dickerson (Alabama) has started every game of his second season on the left side of Philadelphia’s offensive line. The Eagles’ trip to the Super Bowl means Dickerson will miss a trip to Las Vegas for the Pro Bowl Games after earning all-star selection for the 2022 season. Dickerson sustained an elbow injury on Sunday that caused him to leave the NFC Championship Game in the second half.
· Eagles offensive lineman Jack Driscoll (Auburn) is on standby to play tackle and guard. He has played in every game in his third NFL season. Driscoll started and played every snap in three contests – one at left tackle filling in for Jordan Mailata and two at right tackle in place of Lane Johnson.
· Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (Alabama) is a finalist for the AP’s NFL Most Valuable Player Award in his second season as Philadelphia’s starting QB. Hurts has come back from missing two games because a sprained throwing shoulder sustained on Dec. 18. With a 15-1 record as a starting quarterback this season after the Eagles’ victory in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, Hurts has been chosen for the Pro Bowl, earned All-Pro second-team recognition from The Associated Press and was named the All-NFC quarterback by the Pro Football Writers of America.
· Eagles cornerback Josh Jobe (Alabama) earned a spot on Philadelphia’s 53-man roster coming out of the preseason as an undrafted rookie. In his 11 regular-season appearances, Jobe had 12 defensive snaps and 220 special-teams plays. He has continued his special-teams work in the postseason.
· Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith (Alabama) had 95 receptions for 1,196 yards and seven touchdowns during the regular season as he set Philadelphia records for receptions and receiving yards for a player in his first two seasons with the franchise. In the Eagles’ two playoff victories, Smith has had eight receptions for 97 yards and one touchdown.
· Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney (Blount) started his second NFL season with the New York Giants, who traded the former prep quarterback to Kansas City on Oct. 27 for third- and sixth-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft. Toney’s NFL career has been beset by injuries, and he left the AFC Championship Game on Sunday with an ankle injury. In nine games with the Chiefs, Toney has 20 receptions for 216 yards and two touchdowns, six rushing attempts for 78 yards and one touchdown and 12 punt returns for 78 yards in nine games.
· Chiefs offensive tackle Prince Tega Wanogho (Edgewood Academy, Auburn) played in three regular-season games in his first two NFL seasons. But in 2022, he has played in all 17 for Kansas City plus two playoff contests. Used in a reserve role, Wanogho was on the field for 58 offensive snaps and 90 special-teams plays in those games.
· Eagles wide receiver Quez Watkins (Athens) has 33 receptions for 354 yards and three touchdowns during his third NFL season.
Three other players with Alabama football roots are on the rosters of the Super Bowl teams:
· Chiefs running back La’Mical Perine (Theodore) has been a member of the practice squad since Saturday. Perine had been on Miami’s practice squad when the Dolphins’ 2022 season ended in a postseason loss. He has not played this season, but Perine did run for 263 yards and two touchdowns on 72 carries in the previous two seasons with the New York Jets.
· Chiefs wide receiver Justyn Ross (Central-Phenix City) has been on injured reserve all season. Kansas City placed the rookie free agent on IR as training camp was opening after he underwent foot surgery.
· Eagles punterArryn Siposs (Auburn) had his season ended by an ankle injury sustained on Dec. 11 when he was tackled after scooping up a blocked punt and running with the football. In his second season as Philadelphia’s punter, Siposs had averaged 45.6 yards on 44 punts in 2022 before getting hurt.
The connections to Alabama extend into the coaching staffs for the Super Bowl teams:
· Chiefs assistant defensive-line coach Terry Bradden is a graduate of Tuskegee.
· Eagles assistant special-teams coordinator Joe Pannunzio has coached at Auburn and Alabama. He was the tight-ends coach and special-teams coordinator at Auburn in 1999 and Alabama in 2017. Pannunzio also served as the Crimson Tide’s director of football operations from 2010 through 2014 and was the running-backs coach in 2018.
· Eagles defensive-line coach Tracy Rocker is one of the most decorated players in Auburn history. The two-time All-American won the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award as a Tigers’ defensive tackle in 1988 and is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Rocker also has been an assistant coach at West Alabama, Troy and Auburn.
· Eagles offensive-line coach Jeff Stoutland came to Philadelphia after serving in that capacity at Alabama in the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
