Ranking 58 Premier Former College Hoopers Participating in NFL's Super Bowl
February 9th, 2024 - 14:05
Excluding wondering about the variety of grub to be consumed at Super Bowl LVIII party, college basketball enthusiasts might rather want to enjoy know which former hoopers impacted the championship contest over its 58-year history. Emphasizing criteria including multiple appearances, following is a list ranking 58 former varsity hoopers - including multiple athletes from mid-majors Idaho, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Southern, Texas-El Paso and Utah State - impacting Super Bowl history the most from schools currently at the NCAA DI level:
| Rank | Four-Year College Hooper | Current DI School/Hoop Season(s) | Super Bowl Participation Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Roger Staubach | Navy 63 | Cowboys QB completed 61-of-98 passes for 744 yards and eight touchdowns in four Super Bowls (VI, X, XII and XIII). Receivers for three of his TD passes were former major-college hoopers (Mike Ditka/Billy Joe DuPree/Percy Howard). |
| 2. | Rodney Harrison | Western Illinois 93 | SS with Chargers contributed one solo tackle in Super Bowl XXIX. After switching coasts and joining Patriots, he registered team-high eight solo tackles in SB XXVIII, game-high 10 solo tackles in SB XXXIX and game-high 11 solo tackles in SB XLII. |
| 3. | Len Dawson | Purdue 57 | Chiefs QB completed 28-of-44 passes for 353 yards in Super Bowls I and IV. Threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Otis Taylor. |
| 4. | Preston Pearson | Illinois 65-67 | RB returned two kickoffs for 59 yards with Colts in Super Bowl III. Six years later with Steelers, he returned one kickoff for 15 yards in SB IX. After shifting to Cowboys, he rushed five times for 14 yards, caught game-high five passes for 53 yards and recovered one fumble in SB X; rushed three times for 11 yards and and caught game-high five passes for 37 yards in SB XII, plus rushed once for six yards and caught two passes for 15 yards in SB XIII. |
| 5. | Ed "Too Tall" Jones | Tennessee State 70-71 | Cowboys LDE amassed a total of 13 solo tackles in three Super Bowls in four-year span (X, XII and XIII). He also contributed one fumble recovery in SB XIII. |
| 6. | Otis Taylor | Prairie View | Chiefs WR caught a total of 10 passes for 138 yards in two Super Bowls (I and IV). His 31-yarder from Len Dawson helped set up KC's first score in second quarter of inaugural SB. Taylor tallied a game-long 46-yard touchdown reception to cap off contest's scoring in SB IV. |
| 7. | Junious "Buck" Buchanan | Grambling 59 | Chiefs RDT collected five solo tackles and a sack in Super Bowl I before tying for team high with five solo tackles plus a sack in Super Bowl IV. |
| 8. | Bob Griese | Purdue 65 | Dolphins QB completed 26-of-41 passes for 295 yards and one 28-yard touchdown covering back-to-back-to-back Super Bowls (VI, VII and VIII). |
| 9. | Ronnie Lott | Southern California 80 | 49ers DB amassed total of nine solo tackles in four Super Bowls (XVI, XIX, XIII and XXIV) with a high of four in SB XXIII. |
| 10. | Donovan McNabb | Syracuse 96-97 | Eagles QB completed 30-of-51 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns in Super Bowl XXXIX. |
| 11. | Antwaan Randle El | Indiana 99 | Steelers WR caught three passes for 22 yards, returned two punts for 32 yards in Super Bowl XL and threw flea flicker 43-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward to cap off scoring in Super Bowl XL before catching two passes for 50 yards including team-long 37-yarder in SB XLV. |
| 12. | Brad Johnson | Florida State 88-89 | Buccaneers QB completed 18-of-34 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns (bridging both halves) plus rushed once for 10 yards in Super Bowl XXXVII. |
| 13. | London Fletcher | St. Francis (Pa.) 94 | Rams MLB collected game-high seven solo tackles in Super Bowl XXXIV and two solo tackles in SB XXXVI. |
| 14. | Terrell Owens | UT Chattanooga 94-96 | Seven weeks after breaking his leg, Eagles WR registered team highs of nine pass receptions and 122 receiving yards (long of 36) in Super Bowl XXXIX. |
| 15. | John Mackey | Syracuse 61 | Colts TE caught a total of five passes for 115 yards in two Super Bowls (III and V). He had a 75-yard TD reception on a deflected pass from Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas for their initial score in SB V. |
| 16. | Joe Kapp | California 57-58 | Vikings QB completed 16-of-25 passes for 183 yards and rushed twice for nine yards in Super Bowl IV. |
| 17. | Billy Joe DuPree | Michigan State 72 | Cowboys TE recorded one solo tackle in Super Bowl X and caught a total of six passes for 83 yards and one touchdown in subsequent back-to-back SBs (XII and XIII). |
| 18. | Keith McKeller | Jacksonville State 83-86 | Bills TE caught at least one pass in four consecutive Super Bowls (XXV through XXVIII). |
| 19. | Harold Carmichael | Southern 69-70 | Eagles WR caught five passes for 83 yards from Ron Jaworski in Super Bowl XV. |
| 20. | Johnny Sample | Maryland-Eastern Shore | Colts DB supplied five solo tackles and an interception in Super Bowl III. |
| 21. | Tommy Polley | Florida State 97 | Rams RLB tied for team high with seven solo tackles in Super Bowl XXXVI. |
| 22. | Andre Rison | Michigan State 88 | Packers WR caught two passes for 77 yards in Super Bowl XXXI. He opened game's scoring with 54-yard touchdown reception from Brett Favre. |
| 23. | Martellus Bennett | Texas A&M 06-07 | Patriots TE caught five passes for 62 yards from Tom Brady in Super Bowl LI. |
| 24. | Earsell Mackbee | Utah State 65 | Vikings LCB managed six solo tackles in Super Bowl IV. |
| 25. | Bobby Bell | Minnesota 61 | Chiefs LLB recorded total of five solo tackles in Super Bowls I and IV. |
| 26. | Cornell Green | Utah State 60-62 | Cowboys SS contributed a total of four solo tackles in back-to-back Super Bowls (V and VI). |
| 27. | Adalius Thomas | Southern Mississippi 97-98 | Patriots OLB contributed five solo tackles and two quarterback hits in Super Bowl XLII. |
| 28. | Don Blackmon | Tulsa 78 | Patriots ROLB had five solo tackles in Super Bowl XX. |
| 29. | Julius Thomas | Portland State 07-10 | Broncos TE caught four passes for 27 yards from Peyton Manning in Super Bowl XLVIII. |
| 30. | Dave Robinson | Penn State 61 | Packers LB registered two solo tackles and returned a fumble recovery 16 yards in Super Bowl II. |
| 31. | George Martin | Oregon 73 | Giants LDE manufacutred a safety by tackling John Elway in end zone for only second-quarter score in Super Bowl XXI. |
| 32. | Art Shell | Maryland-Eastern Shore | Raiders starting LT in Super Bowls XI and XV. Went on to coach the team for seven years from 1989 through 1994 and 2006. |
| 33. | George Starke | Columbia 69-70 | Redskins starting RT in back-to-back Super Bowls (XVII and XVIII). |
| 34. | Wayne Moore | Lamar 66-69 | Dolphins starting LT in back-to-back Super Bowls (VII and VIII). |
| 35. | Ron Widby | Tennessee 65-67 | Cowboys P recorded 40.2 average on total of 14 punts in back-to-back Super Bowls (V and VI). |
| 36. | Mike Ditka | Pittsburgh 59-60 | Cowboys TE rushed once for 17 yards and caught a seven-yard touchdown pass in Super Bowl VI. |
| 37. | Jordan Norwood | Penn State 07 | Broncos backup WR returned one punt for 61 yards in second quarter of Super Bowl 50. |
| 38. | Percy Howard | Austin Peay State 73-75 | Cowboys backup WR provided a 34-yard touchdown catch in Super Bowl X. It was one-hit wonder's only NFL reception. A Hail Mary pass in his direction from Roger Staubach at game's end was foiled by the Steelers. |
| 39. | Fred "Fuzzy" Thurston | Valparaiso 52 | Packers starting LG in first two Super Bowls. |
| 40. | Alfred Williams | Colorado 90 | Starting RDE for Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII amassed two solo tackles in SB the next year. |
| 41. | Jim Duncan | Maryland-Eastern Shore | Colts RCB delivered one solo tackle, one fumble recovery and four kickoff returns for 90 yards in Super Bowl V. |
| 42. | Julius Peppers | North Carolina 00-01 | Panthers LDE provided two solo tackles in Super Bowl XXXVIII. |
| 43. | Napoleon Harris | Northwestern 98-99 | Raiders starting MLB notched two solo tackles in Super Bowl XXXVII. |
| 44. | Billy Kilmer | UCLA 60 | Redskins QB completed 14-of-28 passes for 104 yards and contributed two nine-yard rushes in Super Bowl VII. |
| 45. | Charlie West | Texas-El Paso 68 | Vikings DB returned three kickoffs for 46 yards and two punts for 18 yards in Super Bowl IV before returning two kickoffs for 28 yards in SB VIII. |
| 46. | Marlin Briscoe | Nebraska-Omaha 65 | Dolphins WR had two of QB Bob Griese's six pass completions in Super Bowl VIII. |
| 47. | Ephraim Salaam | San Diego State 97 | Falcons starting RT as a rookie in Super Bowl XXXIII. |
| 48. | Gerald Perry | South Carolina 84/Southern 87 | Broncos starting LT in Super Bowl XXIV. |
| 49. | Derrick Ramsey | Kentucky 76 | Patriots TE caught two passes for 16 yards in Super Bowl XX. |
| 50. | Brad Jackson | Cincinnati 98 | Ravens backup LB contributed one solo tackle and one fumble recovery in Super Bowl XXXV. |
| 51. | Tony Dungy | Minnesota 74 | Steelers DB recorded one solo tackle in Super Bowl XIII. He went on to become the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl (XLI with Colts). |
| 52. | R.W. McQuarters | Oklahoma State 96-97 | Giants CB returned three punts for 25 yards in Super Bowl XLII. |
| 53. | David Verser | Kansas 78 | Bengals WR returned five kickoffs for 52 yards in Super Bowl XVI. |
| 54. | Tom Mitchell | Bucknell 64 | Colts TE-WR caught one pass for 15 yards from Earl Morrall in Super Bowl III. |
| 55. | Ordell Braase | South Dakota 53-54 | Colts DE contributed one solo tackle in Super Bowl III. |
| 56. | Charles Philyaw | Texas Southern 74-75 | Raiders DE provided a solo tackle in Super Bowl XI. |
| 57. | Reggie Carolan | Idaho 60-62 | Chiefs TE caught one pass for seven yards in first quarter of Super Bowl I to set up missed field-goal attempt. |
| T58. | Marvin Washington | Texas-El Paso 85-86/Idaho 88 | Broncos DE managed one solo tackle in Super Bowl XXXIII. |
| T58. | Dick Capp | Boston College 64 | TE member of Packers special teams recovered a punt return fumble leading to field goal just before time expired in first half of Super Bowl II. |