Penn State has sent many players to the Super Bowl. How it stacks up to other colleges
With another former Nittany Lion set to compete in this year’s Super Bowl, Penn State continues establishing itself as one of college football’s top producers of NFL talent.
Miles Sanders, the Philadelphia Eagles’ starting running back, will represent Penn State at Super Bowl LVII in Arizona Sunday. His appearance will mark the 13th straight NFL championship game featuring a former Nittany Lion, adding to a cumulative program total that rivals college football’s best and brightest.
With just a few days until the Super Bowl matchup between the Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, here’s how Penn State’s big-game glory stacks up against college football’s elite.
A Penn Stater has appeared in every Super Bowl...except for 5
As the Nittany Lions subtly noted in a social media graphic ahead of Super Bowl LV in 2021, at least one Penn State alumnus has appeared in all but five Super Bowls since the NFL’s first in 1967.
Penn State representatives have logged 118 cumulative appearances, according to rosters available through Pro-Football-Reference.com. The Nittany Lions’ total ranks No. 4 all-time behind Michigan (126), USC (124) and Miami (FL) (123).
The Nittany Lions’ active streak of 13 straight Super Bowls with an on-field representative falls behind Georgia and LSU, which are tied with 22 consecutive appearances by alumni. Nebraska’s all-time record of 26 consecutive years with a Super Bowl representative ended in 2019 when the Cornhuskers failed to field an alumnus in Super Bowl LIV.
Barring any last-minute call-ups, the Super Bowl’s 106 active-roster players represent nearly 70 colleges and universities ranging from blue bloods like Alabama and Auburn to smaller schools like Middle Tennessee State and Ventura College. Eighty-eight colleges are represented when including players who were placed on injured reserve or are listed on the Eagles and Chiefs’ practice squads.
Fourteen college programs will field at least one representative for both Philadelphia and Kansas City. Florida and Oklahoma lead the way with seven representatives each.
While Sanders is Penn State’s lone representative in Super Bowl LVII, Nittany Lions fans can still root for Eagles special teams stud Zech McPhearson, who spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons in Happy Valley but is not officially considered a Penn State alumnus by the NFL. The cornerback transferred to Texas Tech and thrived as a team captain in 2020, eventually leading to his selection as an Eagles fourth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Bringing home the hardware
While reaching the Super Bowl is notable, it’s perhaps far more fun to come home with some bling.
Since 1967, Penn State’s Super Bowl representative have accounted for 64 rings following wins in the NFL’s biggest game. Nick Scott and Grant Haley were the most recent to win a championship following the Los Angeles Rams’ win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI in 2022.
Penn State greats and Pro Football Hall of Famers Franco Harris and Jack Ham lead all Nittany Lion alumni with four Super Bowl wins apiece. The pair played together with the Pittsburgh Steelers between 1972 and 1982.
Matt Millen, a former Penn State linebacker who later played in Oakland/Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, also won four Super Bowls throughout his career. He won a championship with all three teams.
Here’s the full list of Penn State players who’ve appeared in each Super Bowl, according to the university’s athletic communications department. The list includes former New England Patriots receiver Chris Hogan, who played only lacrosse at Penn State. Bold names indicate Super Bowl wins.
- Super Bowl I: Dave Robinson, Green Bay; Harrison Rosdahl, Kansas City
- Super Bowl II: Dave Robinson, Green Bay
- Super Bowl III: Ralph Baker, New York Jets; Glenn Ressler, Baltimore
- Super Bowl V: Glenn Ressler, Baltimore
- Super Bowl VII: Bruce Bannon, Miami
- Super Bowl VIII: Bruce Bannon, Miami
- Super Bowl IX: Jack Ham, Franco Harris, Pittsburgh
- Super Bowl X: Jack Ham, Franco Harris, Pittsburgh
- Super Bowl XI: Dave Rowe, Ted Kwalick, Oakland
- Super Bowl XII: Tom Rafferty, Dallas
- Super Bowl XIII: Jack Ham, Franco Harris, Pittsburgh; Tom Rafferty, Dallas
- Super Bowl XIV: Matt Bahr, Jack Ham, Franco Harris, Pittsburgh
- Super Bowl XV: Chris Bahr, Matt Millen, Oakland; Bob Torrey, Philadelphia
- Super Bowl XVI: Pete Kugler, San Francisco
- Super Bowl XVII: Larry Kubin, Rich Milot, Washington; Jimmy Cefalo, Paul Lankford, Miami
- Super Bowl XVIII: Chris Bahr, Matt Millen, Jim Romano, Los Angeles Raiders; Larry Kubin, Rich Milot, Washington
- Super Bowl XIX: Jimmy Cefalo, Paul Lankford, Miami
- Super Bowl XX: Mike Hartenstine, Matt Suhey, Chicago; Jon Williams, New England
- Super Bowl XXI: Brad Benson, New York Giants; Stan Short, Denver
- Super Bowl XXII: Rich Milot, Washington
- Super Bowl XXIII: Pete Kugler, San Francisco
- Super Bowl XXIV: Pete Kugler, Matt Millen, San Francisco
- Super Bowl XXV: Matt Bahr, Bob Mrosko, New York Giants; Shane Conlan, Mitch Frerotte, Mike Alexander, Buffalo
- Super Bowl XXVI: Andre Collins, Tim Johnson, Matt Millen, Washington; Shane Conlan, Mitch Frerotte, Buffalo
- Super Bowl XXVII: Shane Conlan, Mitch Frerotte, Keith Goganious, Buffalo
- Super Bowl XXVIII: Keith Goganious, Buffalo
- Super Bowl XXX: Darren Perry, Eric Ravotti, Pittsburgh
- Super Bowl XXXI: Marco Rivera, Green Bay; Sam Gash, Todd Rucci, New England
- Super Bowl XXXII: Marco Rivera, Brett Conway, Green Bay
- Super Bowl XXXIV: Terry Killens, Mike Archie, Tennessee
- Super Bowl XXXV: Sam Gash, Kim Herring, Baltimore; Kerry Collins, Joe Jurevicius, Brandon Short, New York Giants
- Super Bowl XXXVI: Kim Herring, Tyoka Jackson, St. Louis
- Super Bowl XXXVII: Joe Jurevicius, Tampa Bay
- Super Bowl XXXVIII: Shawn Mayer, New England
- Super Bowl XXXIX: Justin Kurpeikis, New England; Eric McCoo, Philadelphia
- Super Bowl XL: Jeff Hartings, Pittsburgh; Bobby Engram, Joe Jurevicius, Seattle
- Super Bowl XLI: John Gilmore, Robbie Gould, Chicago
- Super Bowl XLII: Jay Alford, Kareem McKenzie, New York Giants; Kyle Brady, New England
- Super Bowl XLIII: Sean McHugh, Scott Paxson, Pittsburgh; Levi Brown, Arizona
- Super Bowl XLV: Andrew Quarless, Green Bay; Jeremy Kapinos, Pittsburgh
- Super Bowl XLVI: Jimmy Kennedy, Kareem McKenzie, New York Giants; Rich Ohrnberger, New England
- Super Bowl XLVII: NaVorro Bowman, San Francisco
- Super Bowl XLVIII: Jordan Hill, Michael Robinson, Seattle
- Super Bowl XLIX: Garry Gilliam, Jordan Hill, Seattle
- Super Bowl 50: Jordan Norwood, Denver
- Super Bowl LI: Chris Hogan, New England
- Super Bowl LII: Stefen Wisniewski, Philadelphia; Chris Hogan, New England
- Super Bowl LIII: Chris Hogan, New England; Garrett Sickels, Los Angeles
- Super Bowl LIV: Stefen Wisniewski, Jordan Lucas, Kansas City; Robbie Gould, Anthony Zettel, Kevin Givens, San Francisco
- Super Bowl LV: Chris Godwin, Donovan Smith, A.Q. Shipley, Tampa Bay; Stefen Wisniewski, Kansas City
- Super Bowl LVI: Nick Scott, Grant Haley, Los Angeles Rams
Sanders set to star
Sanders, the Philadelphia Eagles’ starting running back, will have a good shot to secure a ring himself as he anchors the league’s best rushing attack in Super Bowl LVII.
Sanders heads to Arizona with one game remaining in what easily ranks as the best season of his young NFL career. Through the 17-game regular season and two playoff games, he has amassed 1,401 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, all en route to his first career NFL Pro Bowl selection. His 42-yard, two-touchdown performance against the San Franscisco 49ers’ league-best rushing defense ignited a dominant Eagles win in the NFC Championship Game Jan. 29, punching Philadelphia’s first ticket to the Super Bowl since the 2017 season.
How to watch Super Bowl LVII
The top-ranked Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs will meet in Super Bowl LVII Sunday, Feb. 12. The game will kick off at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time at Glendale, Arizona’s State Farm Stadium and feature a halftime show headlined by Rihanna.
Super Bowl LVII will broadcast live on FOX and the FOX Sports App. Streams will also be available through Sling TV, Hulu+ and fuboTV. Television sets with an antenna in a good reception area may pick up a local Super Bowl stream, FOX said.
This story was originally published February 7, 2023 at 2:18 PM.
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