Super Bowl LIV Features 13 Orange Bowl Alumni Returning to Hard Rock Stadium
MIAMI LAKES, Fla. – A total of 13 players who were on collegiate rosters in games hosted by the Orange Bowl at what is now known as Hard Rock Stadium, will return to the Stadium for Super Bowl LIV on Feb. 2.
The AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs have nine former Orange Bowl participants on their roster, including wide receiver Sammy Watkins, who played in two Orange Bowls for Clemson (2012 and 2014) and set bowl records with 16 receptions (2 for touchdowns) and 227 yards in the Tigers’ win over Ohio State in the Jan. 2014 game. His K.C. and Clemson teammate, CB Bashaud Breeland, also played in both of those games, and their Chiefs’ teammate, LB Darron Lee, played against them in the 2014 game. Other Chiefs who were on Orange Bowl rosters include TE Travis Kelce (2009 Cincinnati where he was listed as a 6-5, 242 pound freshman quarterback), LB Reggie Ragland who played for Alabama in the 2013 BCS National Championship game hosted by the Orange Bowl, OG Cam Erving (2013 Florida State) and kicker Harrison Butker (Georgia Tech), who played in the Dec. 2014 game against Mississippi State, whose roster included 2019 Pro Bowler Chris Jones (DL) and Chiefs' practice squad player Braxton Hoyett.
The NFC Champion 49ers roster includes four veterans of games hosted by the Orange Bowl. FS Jimmie Ward played for the Northern Illinois Huskies in the 2013 Orange Bowl against Florida State, finishing with the most tackles in the game. DT Sheldon Day played in the 2013 BCS National Championship game for Notre Dame against Ragland and Alabama, while Stanford’s Richard Sherman (CB) and Levine Toilolo (TE) played in the 2011 Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech. Additionally, while he did not play in the Orange Bowl, Laken Tomlinson (OG) of Duke was the recipient of the 2014 Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award, given annually to someone who displays courage on or off the field, including overcoming an injury or physical handicap, preventing a disaster or living through hardship.
The 13 Orange Bowl alumni playing in Super Bowl LIV represent six different current collegiate conferences – Atlantic Coast Conference (4), American Athletic Conference (1), Big Ten Conference (1), Mid-American Conference (1), Pac-12 Conference (2) and the Southeastern Conference (3) -- and Notre Dame (1).
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