Georgia has been the preeminent college football program for much of this decade, with a pair of national championships at the end of the 2021 and 2022 seasons and three College Football Playoff appearances in the past four seasons.
Under coach Kirby Smart, the Bulldogs have become the top dog in what’s broadly considered to be the deepest, most competitive conference in the sport (the SEC’s recent national title drought notwithstanding).
Georgia’s excellence extends far beyond the college level, too.
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The Bulldogs will be well-represented in Super Bowl 59 Sunday between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, with eight players between the teams’ two rosters. They’re tied with Oklahoma for the most number of former players competing in the game.
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For Georgia, though, that representation carries an added significance. Sunday will mark the 24th consecutive Super Bowl in which there has been at least one former Bulldogs player represented on a roster.
Here’s a closer look at Georgia’s impressive streak:
Georgia football Super Bowl streak
With eight Bulldogs making the trip to the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans Sunday, Georgia has at least one former player in the Super Bowl for the 24th consecutive season.
It’s a streak that’s not only impressive, but tops among college teams.
Prior to this year, Georgia and LSU had been tied for the longest active Super Bowl streaks involving at least one former player, with both SEC programs at 23 consecutive games. LSU, however, does not have a player on the active rosters or reserve/injury lists of the Chiefs or Eagles. There are two former Tigers — running back Tyrion Davis-Price and safety Andre’ Sam — on the Eagles, but they’re on Philadelphia’s practice squad, meaning Georgia is the only team with active players this year.
There has been at least one Bulldogs player in every Super Bowl since Super Bowl 36 in 2002, when Richard Seymour, Patrick Pass and Jermaine Wiggins helped lift the New England Patriots to a stunning upset over the “Greatest Show on Turf” St. Louis Rams.
Just how much time has passed since then? That Super Bowl was the first of six Tom Brady would win with the Patriots. On Sunday, as another batch of former Georgia players compete for the Vince Lombardi Trophy, Brady, now 47 years old, will be calling the game for Fox from the broadcast booth inside the Superdome.
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Georgia football players in Super Bowl 59
While Georgia has two players on the Chiefs, defensive end Malik Herring and injured wide receiver Mecole Hardman, the bulk of its representation on the biggest stage in professional football will come on the Eagles.
Philadelphia has loaded up on Bulldogs over the past several years. It began in 2022, when two of the Eagles’ first three picks came from Georgia and continued the following year, when they devoted three of its first five selections to Bulldogs standouts. Three members of Philadelphia’s starting front seven played at Georgia — nose tackle Jordan Davis, defensive end Jalen Carter and linebacker Nolan Smith Jr. — a group that doesn’t include linebacker Nakobe Dean, who had become an integral part of the team’s defense before suffering a season-ending knee injury in a victory against the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round.
Led by that core of Bulldogs, Philadelphia finished first among all NFL teams in total defense during the regular season, allowing 278.4 yards per game.
If the Eagles end up beating the Chiefs and denying Kansas City of its bid for a third-consecutive title, they’ll have some folks back in Athens to thank.
Here’s a full list of former Georgia players who will be competing in Super Bowl 59:
- Eagles DT Jalen Carter
- Eagles DT Jordan Davis
- Eagles OLB Nolan Smith Jr.
- Eagles CB Kelee Ringo
- Eagles DB Lewis Cine
- Eagles LB Nakobe Dean (injured)
- Chiefs DE Malik Herring
- Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman (injured)
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