Super Bowl LIV will be the 11th contested in South Florida. Sunday will be the fourth Super Bowl played in the Orange Bowl or Hard Rock Stadium without a Miami Football alum on either roster.
The Miami football program has produced the most players and most Superbowl appearances in the history of the Big Game. Superbowl LIV on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium is only the fourth of the 11 games to be contested in South Florida to not have a Miami Hurricanes alum on either roster.
Former Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman Allen Bailey spent the first eight years of his NFL career with the 2019 AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs. Bailey had a career-high 27 solo tackles, six sacks and 10 quarterback hits with the Chiefs in 2018 before signing with the Atlanta Falcons for the 2019 season.
Defensive back Adrian Colbert spent the first two seasons of his NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers before being released at the outset of the 2019 season on September 1. That is as close as the Miami Football program got to extending their streak to 14 consecutive Superbowls with an alum on one of the rosters.
Wide receiver Philip Dorsett was on the New England Patriots roster for Superbowl LIII but did not catch a pass. Dorsett earned rings as a member of the Patriots Superbowl winning teams in 2016 and ’18. New England lost Superbowl LII to the Philadelphia Eagles. Tim Reynolds of the AP tweeted out the SB winning Canes.
By my count, it’s now 51 Miami Hurricanes with a combined 69 Super Bowl rings.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) February 4, 2019
The last time the Superbowl was in South Florida, the New Orleans Saints won their first championship in their 43rd year in the NFL. Three former Miami football players had a role in the Saints victory. Cornerback Glenn Sharpe, tight end Jeremy Shockey and linebacker Jonathan Vilma played for the Saints in SB XLIV.
Vilma and Shockey were starters. Shockey caught three passes for 13 yards and a touchdown. Vilma had five solo tackles, two pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Sharpe did not appear on the score sheet. Susan Miller Degnan of the Miami Herald listed the Hurricanes alums to play in a Miami Superbowl.
"SOUTH FLORIDA SUPER BOWLS WITH FORMER MIAMI HURRICANESSuper Bowl 2: Jan. 14, 1968, Orange Bowl: Green Bay Packers 33, Oakland Raiders (14) (Pete Banaszak, HB; Dan Conners, LB; Bill Miller, DL; Jim Otto, C) 14.Super Bowl 5: Jan. 17, 1971, Orange Bowl: Baltimore Colts (Ted Hendricks, LB) 16, Dallas Cowboys 13.Super Bowl 13: Jan. 21, 1979, Orange Bowl: Pittsburgh Steelers (Gary Dunn, DT) 35, Dallas Cowboys 31.Super Bowl 23: Jan. 22, 1989, Joe Robbie Stadium: San Francisco 49ers (Kevin Fagan, DE; Daniel Stubbs, DE) 20, Cincinnati Bengals (Eddie Brown, WR) 16.Super Bowl 33: Jan. 31, 1999, Pro Player Stadium: Denver Broncos (K.C. Jones, C) 34, Atlanta Falcons 19.Super Bowl 41: Feb. 4, 2007, Dolphin Stadium: Indianapolis Colts (Tanard Davis, DB; Reggie Wayne, WR) 29, Chicago Bears (Devin Hester, KR; Darrell McClover, LB) 17.Super Bowl 44: Feb. 7, 2010, Sun Life Stadium: New Orleans Saints (Glenn Sharpe, CB; Jeremy Shockey, TE; Jonathan Vilma, LB) 31, Indianapolis Colts (Reggie Wayne) 17."
It is difficult to project which Hurricanes will play in the Superbowl next. Two Miami Hurricanes rookies made the playoffs in 2019. Travis Homer became the starting running back for the Seattle Seahawks when they were decimated by injuries earlier in the season. Homer had 152 all-purpose yards in Seattle’s two playoff games.
Safety Jaquan Johnson played in the Buffalo Bills 22-19 playoff loss at Houston. The former Miami football Most Valuable Player received 16 snaps on special teams but did not record a tackle. Tight end Brevin Jordan and defensive end Greg Rousseau are projected as 2021 first-round picks and players to watch in the future.