10 Super Bowl Stars You Never Heard of While They Were in College
One of the best things about the Super Bowl—besides the endless pizza and nachos—is following the journey of the players who make it there.
Not everyone was a first-round pick, an All-American or award winner in college or a 5-star recruit coming out of high school. As noted by Ty Duffy of The Big Lead, the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos, who played in last year's Super Bowl, had more former 2-star recruits on their rosters than 4- and 5-star recruits.
Many of the guys playing in a little under two weeks from now weren't household names in college, so it's time to give them some love. Here are 10 Super Bowl stars who weren't well known in college. These are players who attended smaller programs, didn't start many games, went undrafted or simply went under the radar when it came to national awards and All-American lists.
Seattle Wide Receiver Doug Baldwin
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College: Stanford (2007-10)
Doug Baldwin is one of the rare players to have played for both Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll. On the record, he's had more pleasant things to say about the latter.
As Doug Farrar of Sports Illustrated noted, Baldwin (along with former Stanford and current Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman) never "made a huge impact under Harbaugh." Baldwin did lead the Cardinal in receiving in 2010 (58 receptions, 857 yards, nine touchdowns), but he sat in the shadows of other players like quarterback Andrew Luck and even running back Stepfan Taylor.
"I've heard all my life how I'm too short or not big enough to play this game," Baldwin said, via Percy Allen of The Seattle Times. "It's nothing new."
Baldwin went undrafted in 2011, but he became the first undrafted rookie to lead his team in catches and receiving yards since the AFC-NFC merger. Baldwin again led the Seahawks during the 2014 regular season with 66 catches for 825 yards and three touchdowns.
New England Cornerback Kyle Arrington
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College: Hofstra (2004-07)
Kyle Arrington's role as a cornerback for the New England Patriots has diminished over the past year, as he started only four games in 2014. Though he's typically the Patriots' No. 3 corner, Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston noted that Arrington played all 56 snaps against the Colts last Sunday and limited T.Y. Hilton to one catch.
Arrington's prime time with New England was from 2010-13, when he started an average of 13 games a season. In 2011, he had seven interceptions.
But Arrington didn't start off on the NFL's radar. He was picked up by the Eagles out of Hofstra as an undrafted free agent in 2008 and had a brief stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers until he landed with New England.
Seattle Cornerback Byron Maxwell
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College: Clemson (2006-10)
Byron Maxwell has made a career of proving others wrong. Though he was a former 4-star prospect who signed with Clemson in 2006, Maxwell started only eight games during his college career. In 2011, he was a sixth-round draft pick by the Seahawks.
As noted by Eric Williams of The News Tribune in 2011, Maxwell had a lot of physical upside but plenty to prove as a corner:
"Maxwell, 21, is a hard hitter and was a valuable special teams player at Clemson, finishing with 45 career special teams tackles.
But what Maxwell will have to prove is that he has fluid enough hip movement and route anticipation to remain a corner for Seattle, where he will receive some intense competition for a spot on the final roster with players who already have some experience in defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s system like Walter Thurmond, Roy Lewis, Kennard Cox, Marcus Brown and Josh Pinkard.
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In the past two years, Maxwell has been a force on the opposite side of the field of Richard Sherman. In 2013 and 2014, he's compiled 58 tackles, 24 pass deflections and six interceptions.
New England Defensive Tackle Chris Jones
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College: Bowling Green (2009-12)
When you think about New England's defensive line, there's one name that comes to mind: Vince Wilfork. The former Miami Hurricane has had an impressive NFL career and is a staple of the Patriots defensive front. But there's another name that has been an important part of that line: defensive tackle Chris Jones.
Jones has been in the league for only two seasons and New England is his third stop. Though he has just 25 tackles and three sacks on the year, Jones' job is to create lanes for others to make plays.
He was originally drafted in the sixth round by the Houston Texans in 2012, but he was cut before the season began. He then had a brief stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before being claimed by the Patriots.
Per his bio on the Patriots' website, "37 other defensive linemen in the 2013 NFL draft, he was cut by two teams over a span of just 11 days."
In 2012, Jones was named the Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a First-Team All-MAC selection for the Falcons.
New England Offensive Lineman Dan Connolly
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College: Southeast Missouri State (2001-04)
Dan Connolly went from a small-school offensive lineman to undrafted free agent to one of the most versatile players for New England up front.
Connolly, a former four-year starter and All-Ohio Valley selection at Southeast Missouri State, has been with the Patriots as an active roster member since 2008. He originally signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars but was later released and joined the Patriots as a practice squad member.
Since 2010, he's started at least 13 games for the Patriots each season, including all 16 regular-season games in 2013. Connolly has played at both guards and center and helped the Pats to a top-10 passing offense in 2014.
Seattle Running Back Robert Turbin
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College: Utah State (2007-11)
Seattle running back Robert Turbin has had a productive career, but he has generally played in someone else's shadow.
As a running back for Utah State, Turbin was a former 2-star recruit who tallied 3,315 rushing yards and 51 total touchdowns in college. He missed the 2010 season with an ACL injury but compiled more than 1,500 yards on the ground the following year.
However, that was the year the college football world was introduced to Aggies quarterback Chuckie Keeton. It was also the first time Utah State had a winning record since 1996.
With Seattle, Turbin has been a complement to primary running back Marshawn Lynch. He's also been a reliable pass-catcher out of the backfield, with 43 career receptions for 427 yards and two touchdowns.
New England Wide Receiver Julian Edelman
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College: Kent State (2006-08)
By now, you know that Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman was a quarterback at Kent State. In fact, you were probably reminded for the 1,000th time when Edelman threw a 51-yard touchdown to Danny Amendola on a double pass against the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round of the playoffs. (On a related note, let's see that again, shall we?)
But did you actually know about Edelman when he was at Kent State? For most, the answer is probably no.
Edelman started his career at the College of San Mateo before transferring to the Golden Flashes in 2006. In his three-year career, he accounted for 4,997 yards passing and 2,483 yards rushing, per Sports-Reference.com.
He was originally drafted by the Patriots in the seventh round of the 2009 draft. This past season, he led New England with 92 receptions.
Seattle Tight End Luke Willson
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College: Rice (2008-12)
Luke Willson helped Seattle get back to a second straight Super Bowl thanks to this amazing play on a two-point conversion against Green Bay in the NFC championship. However, Willson's fame was more concentrated as a tight end for Rice from 2008-2012.
After redshirting his freshman year, Willson had a breakout season in 2010 by leading the team with 33 catches for 425 yards. He followed that effort up with 29 catches for 313 yards in 2012 and was named Second-Team All-Conference USA by Phil Steele, per his Seattle bio.
His senior season was injury-plagued, and he ended up being a fifth-round pick for the Seahawks. However, he's been a reliable pass-catching option for Seattle, with 42 grabs in two regular seasons.
New England Wide Receiver Danny Amendola
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College: Texas Tech (2004-07)
The Patriots' wide receiver unit is made up largely of underappreciated and/or undrafted players. Danny Amendola, though a productive wide receiver at Texas Tech, fits that mold.
Amendola was a four-year starter for the Red Raiders and earned multiple All-Big 12 honors along the way. Per Sports-Reference.com, he finished his career in Lubbock with 204 catches and 2,246 yards.
Still, Amendola wasn't drafted in 2008 and bounced around on practice squads with the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles before eventually landing with the St. Louis Rams.
Injuries have hampered Amendola's numbers over his career, and he started just four regular-season games for New England this season. However, he had five catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns in the divisional playoff win over Baltimore. On the season, Amendola was fifth on the team with 27 catches for 200 yards heading into the playoffs.
Seattle Guard J.R. Sweezy
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College: North Carolina State (2007-11)
Plenty of players switch positions going from college to the pros, but not many have done it as successfully as Seattle offensive lineman J.R. Sweezy.
The former North Carolina State defensive tackle made just 20 starts in college, but he has made the transition to guard practically seamless. Sweezy started in three games as a rookie in 2012 and started all 16 regular-season games in 2014. Not bad for a seventh-round pick.
As a member of Seattle's physical offensive line, Sweezy has helped the Seahawks cement themselves as the No. 1 rushing team in the NFL at 172.6 yards per game.
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All stats courtesy of ESPN.com and respective team websites. All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.com.
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