Neal, Poole Join Long List of Gators to Play in Super Bowl
Sunday, February 5, 2017 | Football
Former Gators Keanu Neal and Brian Poole will start for the Atlanta Falcons in Sunday’s Super Bowl.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Since Super Bowl I 51 years ago at the Los Angeles Coliseum, the Gators have usually been represented in the biggest sporting event of the year.
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-decrepit Pontiac Silverdome.
A year ago in Denver's 24-10 win over Carolina in Super Bowl XL, former UF stars Andre Caldwell, Max Garcia, and Lerentee McCray each played for the Broncos.
In Sunday's Super Bowl LI between Atlanta and New England, a pair of rookies and former defensive backs for the Gators, Keanu Neal and Brian Poole, will start for the Falcons.
Neal, who was Atlanta's first round pick in 2016, played and started in 14 games this season. Statistically he posted 106 tackles and five forced fumbles, which both ranked second on the team. Meanwhile, Poole, who's an undrafted rookie, played in all 16 games this season and started nine of them. The undrafted rookie totaled 59 tackles, 10 pass deflections, one sack and one interception during the regular season.
In tonight's game, the Falcons will become the first team in NFL history to start four rookies on defense in a Super Bowl (Neal, Poole, Deion Jones, De'Vondre Campbell).
Poole spoke about his journey from Gainesville to Atlanta and the opportunity of playing in Super Bowl earlier this week.
#SuperBowl Preview: Listen to @JustPooleN_It talk about his crazy journey to Houston for tomorrow's big game. #GatorMade pic.twitter.com/gi5gGAkE38
— Gators Football (@GatorsFB) February 5, 2017
There is one more UF connection in the game, Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn. Quinn was Florida's defensive coordinator in 2011-12 and is coaching in the Super Bowl for the third time in four years.
After Quinn left Florida, he became the Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator for two seasons (2013-14) when they defeated the Broncos and fell to the Patriots in back-to-back years in the big game.
With Atlanta's win over Green Bay in the NFC Championship Game two weeks ago, Quinn joined Mike Shanahan as only UF coaches to lead a team to the Super Bowl.
Florida has had a former player on a Super Bowl roster for 15 straight years, dating back to the 2003 season when offensive linemen Kenyatta Walker and Lomas Brown helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Mo Collins and the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII.
Overall, there have been 48 former Gators make 66 appearances in Super Bowl history, with a former UF player on the winning team 20 times.
If Atlanta win the Super Bowl tonight, Florida would have the longest active streak of former players winning a Super Bowl ring at six years running.
| 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, Injured Reserve) | |
| 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, injured reserve) |
| 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) |
*Started in the Super Bowl; BOLD indicates Super Bowl winning team
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