Trey Burton has had a solid season for the Eagles as he tallied 24 catches for 260 yards and five touchdowns thus far. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Gators on Both Sides of Super Bowl LII
Friday, February 2, 2018 | Football
Trey Burton, Jaylen Watkins and Mike Gillislee all have a chance to win a Super Bowl ring on Sunday.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Former University of Florida football players have a strong presence on football's biggest stage dating all the way back to Super Bowl I in 1967.
In that very first Super Bowl between Green Bay and Kansas City, former UF punter/kicker Don Chandler was part of Green Bay's 35-10 victory over the Chiefs. He was back a year later in Green Bay's 33-14 win over Oakland in Super Bowl II.
Chandler's four field goals against the Raiders still stands as the most ever in a Super Bowl, tied by San Francisco kicker Ray Wersching in Super Bowl XVI at the now-defunct Pontiac Silverdome.
A year ago in New England's 34-28 win over Atlanta in Super Bowl LI, former UF stars Keanu Neal and Brian Poole both started in the Falcons' defensive backfield.
In Sunday's Super Bowl LII between Philadelphia and New England, both teams are well represented by former Gators. Trey Burton, Jaylen Watkins, and Caleb Sturgis (IR) play for the Philadelphia Eagles, while Mike Gillislee is the lone Gator on the New England Patriots.
A Gator will be guaranteed to be on the winning team of a Super Bowl for the 21st time overall, and the sixth time in the last seven years.
Tight end Trey Burton has had a solid season for the Eagles, tallying 24 catches for 260 yards and five touchdowns thus far. Defensive back Jaylen Watkins (pictured below) contributed 17 tackles and two tackles-for-loss across 12 games in the regular season. Sturgis, who's been on the Eagles' Injured Reserve since Week 2 of the regular season, converted 3 of 3 field goal attempts in Week 1 against Washington.
Running back Mike Gillislee has been inactive due to injury in New England's first two playoff games. The fifth-year veteran gained 383 yards on the ground and scored five touchdowns in his first year with the Patriots. While at UF, Gillislee racked up 2,072 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns on 389 carries.
UF has had a former player on a Super Bowl roster for 16 straight years, dating back to 2003 when offensive linemen Kenyatta Walker and Lomas Brown helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Mo Collins and the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII.
The 16-year streak stands as the second longest of its kind in the SEC, as Georgia and LSU are tied for the longest streak at 17 years.
Overall, there have been 52 former Gators make 70 appearances in Super Bowl history, with a former UF player on the winning team 20 times.
| Super Bowl I (1967) | Green Bay: Don Chandler (P) |
| Super Bowl II (1968) | Green Bay: Don Chandler (P) |
| Super Bowl X (1976) | Dallas: Burton Lawless* (G) |
| Super Bowl XII(1978) | Dallas: Larry Brinson (RB), Burton Lawless (G) |
| Super Bowl XIII (1979) | Dallas: Larry Brinson (RB), Burton Lawless (G) |
| Super Bowl XIV (1980) | Los Angeles Rams: Jack Youngblood* (DE) |
| Super Bowl XVI (1982) | Cincinnati: Glenn Cameron* (LB), Cris Collinsworth* (WR) |
| Super Bowl XVII (1983) | Miami: Nat Moore (WR) |
| Super Bowl XIX (1985) | Miami: Nat Moore (WR) |
| Super Bowl XX (1986) | Chicago: Wilber Marshall* (LB) |
| Super Bowl XXI (1987) | Denver: Tony Lilly (FS), Ricky Nattiel (WR) |
| Super Bowl XXII (1988) | Denver: Tony Lilly* (FS), Ricky Nattiel* (WR) |
| Super Bowl XXIII (1989) | Cincinnati: Cris Collinsworth (WR) |
| Super Bowl XXVI (1992) | Washington: Wilber Marshall* (LB) |
| Super Bowl XXVII (1993) | Dallas: Emmitt Smith* (RB), Godfrey Myles (LB) |
| Super Bowl XXVIII (1994) | Dallas: Emmitt Smith* (RB), Godfrey Myles (LB) |
| Super Bowl XXX (1996) | Pittsburgh: John L Williams* (RB), Ernie Mills* (WR) |
| Dallas: Emmitt Smith* (RB), Godfrey Myles (LB) | |
| Super Bowl XXXIII (1999) | Atlanta: Elijah Williams (DB) |
| Super Bowl XXXIV (2000) | Tennessee: Jevon Kearse* (DE), Zach Piller (OG) |
| St. Louis: Kevin Carter* (DE) | |
| Super Bowl XXXV (2001) | New York Giants: Lomas Brown* (OT), Ike Hilliard* (WR) |
| Baltimore: Jeff Mitchell* (C) | |
| Super Bowl XXXVII (2003) | Oakland: Mo Collins* (OG) |
| Tampa Bay: Kenyatta Walker* (OT), Lomas Brown (OT) | |
| Super Bowl XXXVIII (2004) | Carolina: Jeff Mitchell* (C) |
| Super Bowl XXXIX (2005) | Philadelphia: Lito Sheppard* (CB), Jevon Kearse* (DE) |
| New England: Gus Scott (S, IR) | |
| Super Bowl XL (2006) | Seattle: Darrell Jackson* (WR), Marquand Manuel* (S) |
| Pittsburgh: Max Starks* (OT) | |
| Super Bowl XLI (2007) | Chicago: Alex Brown* (DE), Rex Grossman* (QB), Todd Johnson (S), Ian Scott* (DT) |
| Super Bowl XLII (2008) | New England: Jabar Gaffney (WR), Chad Jackson (WR) |
| Super Bowl XLIII (2009) | Pittsburgh: Dallas Baker (WR), Max Starks* (OT) |
| Super Bowl XIV (2010) | New Orleans: Bobby McCray* (DE) |
| Super Bowl XLV (2011) | Pittsburgh: Maurkice Pouncey (C), Max Starks (OT) (both were injured and unable to play) |
| Super Bowl XLVI (2012) | New England: Brandon Spikes* (LB), Aaron Hernandez (TE), Gerard Warren (DT), Jermaine Cunningham (LB, IR) |
| New York Giants: Justin Trattou (DE, inactive) | |
| Super Bowl XLVII (2013) | Baltimore: Deonte Thompson (WR, inactive) |
| San Francisco: Ray McDonald* (DE) | |
| Super Bowl XL III (2014) | Denver: Andre Caldwell (WR), Jeremy Mincey* (DL), Lerentee McCray (LB) Seattle: Percy Harvin* (WR) |
| Super Bowl XLIX (2015) | New England: Dominique Easley (DT, inactive) |
| Super Bowl XL (2016) | Denver: Andre Caldwell (WR), Max Garcia* (OL), Lerentee McCray* (LB) |
| Super Bowl LI (2017) | Atlanta: Keanu Neal* (DB), Brian Poole* (DB) |
| Super Bowl LII (2018) | Philadelphia: Trey Burton (TE), Jaylen Watkins (DB), Caleb Sturgis (K, IR) New England: Mike Gillislee (RB) |
*Started in the Super Bowl; BOLD indicates Super Bowl winning team
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