There’s a small sporting event happening February 3rd in Atlanta that may or may not draw a few eyeballs. Super Bowl LIII is a classic case of the young up-and-comer against the old guard. The Rams have their 33-year-old head coach in Sean McVay and a 24-year-old quarterback in Jared Goff. The Patriots, meanwhile, are in the game for the third straight year and ninth time overall in the Brady-Belichick era.
From a local standpoint, there is a UConn tie in this year’s big game, on the New England side. It’s one of the seven times in Super Bowl history that a former Husky will play a role for a Super Bowl participant.
Will Beatty:
The offensive lineman never actually played in a Super Bowl, but he has two rings to his name. The starting left tackle for the Giants in the 2010 season, he suffered a detached retina in November and was on injured reserve when New York beat New England in Super Bowl XLVI.
Last year he joined the Eagles in November and, although he didn’t play a single snap, received a second ring when Philadelphia beat New England.
John Dorsey:
He never made a Super Bowl in his five seasons as a player, but the current Browns general manager was a part of the Packers front office for two Super Bowls. When Green Bay won Super Bowl XXXI he was a scout; 15 years later he was the Director of College Scouting when the Packers won Super Bowl XLV.
Nick Giaquinto:
One of the first H-backs in NFL history, the Bridgeport native played his college ball at both UConn and Bridgeport. He spent four years in the NFL, the last three with the Redskins, where he played in two Super Bowls. He didn’t record any stats in Super Bowl XVII, when Washington beat Miami. The following season in a loss to the Raiders he had two receptions for 21 yards.
Another fun fact about Giaquinto: of all the great running backs in UConn history (Donald Brown, Terry Caulley, Jordan Todman, Vinny Clements, etc.) he owns the single-game rushing record in Storrs, gashing Holy Cross for 277 yards in 1976.
Nick Kozlowski:
The undrafted tight end spent over a decade in the NFL, most notably with the Falcons. He played in Super Bowl XXXIII with Atlanta, catching a lone pass in a 34-19 loss to the Broncos.
Robert McClain:
The former All-Big East cornerback signed with the team that originally drafted him, the Panthers, in December 2015. Two months later he was on the field in Super Bowl 50, making a pair of tackles in a 24-10 loss to the Broncos.
Obi Melifonwu:
A November signing by the Patriots, the former second-round pick made his postseason debut in the AFC Championship Game against Kansas City, recording a single tackle. It’s yet to be determined if Melifonwu will on the active Super Bowl roster against the Rams, but either way he will receive a ring if the Patriots win.
Nick Williams & Blidi Wreh-Wilson:
We could have had a Husky on both sidelines Sunday in Atlanta had the Rams not cut Williams back in November. Both he and Wreh-Wilson played for the Falcons in their NFC championship 2016 season, though neither player was active in the overtime loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl LI.