Four Georgia Bulldogs will be representing the two remaining NFL teams as Super Bowl LVII approaches this Sunday. Mecole Hardman and Malik Herring will be part of the AFC Championship team, the Kansas City Chiefs. As for the NFC Champion, the Philadelphia Eagles, they will be represented by a pair of rookies in Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean. Georgia is tied with LSU for having the longest streak of having at least one player represented in a Super Bowl. Both teams have done it for the last 22 seasons.
Mecole Hardman has the most experience in the Big Game. This is the third Super Bowl already for Hardman. In February of 2020, his Chiefs defeated the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, but a season later they lost to the Buccaneers in the big game. Hardman has battled injuries throughout the season. He has had groin, heel, and abdomen injuries throughout regular season play, then it was a pelvis injury that took him out during the conference championship against the Bengals.
He played just eight games during the regular season and that lone game in the postseason. He had just 25 receptions compared to the 59 the season before. However, he doubled his touchdown reception total from two to four this season and added his first two career touchdown rushes. Hardman’s biggest game of the season happened on October 23 when he had both of those touchdown runs and added a touchdown catch against San Francisco.
In Super Bowl action, Hardman has three career receptions, not to mention a run and three kickoff returns (he also called for a fair catch in three punt returns). He will not add to that total this week, as he was placed on injured reserve.
His Chiefs’ teammate Malik Herring has been inactive since playing in week ten. Herring has seven tackles on the season and recovered a fumble in that same 49ers’ game that Mecole starred in. It is unclear his status for Sunday.
As for the Eagles, Jordan Davis was having an outstanding rookie campaign until he suffered a high-ankle sprain in early November. On the season, he had 18 tackles, including a season-high four in week four against the Jaguars.
Nakobe Dean has been used mostly on special teams this season in Philadelphia. Dean made six tackles on defense and was part of seven more on opposing returns.
Davis had this to say after the last game:
Video courtesy of KYW-TV in Philadelphia
Four former Dawgs were players in last season’s Super Bowl (Leonard Floyd, Trey Hill, Sony Michel, and Matthew Stafford). According to the Georgia media guide, Michel became the 13th former Bulldog to win two Super Bowls. Can Hardman become No. 14?
No matter what, Hardman will join this list of former Bulldogs that have been a part of three or more Super Bowls.
In last season’s game, Stafford became just the third former Dawg to throw a pass in a Super Bowl and put up some other big numbers up as well.
Among the former Bulldogs, Stafford had the most yards passing in one game with 283 and the most touchdown passes with three. He also completed the longest pass, a 35-yarder to Odell Beckham, Jr. early in the second quarter.
In that same game, Sony Michel rushed the ball twice and added to his impressive Super Bowl totals.
Terrell Davis is currently the only Bulldog to have three rushing touchdowns in one Super Bowl. He did that against the Packers. He did not have any touchdowns against the Falcons.
Hardman won't have a chance to get back to positive yards rushing, nor will he add to his receiving stats. Nonetheless, this list has some Damn Good Dawgs.
Only 15 times has any player had at least ten receptions in one Super Bowl, and former Bulldog Andre Hastings was one of them. Hines Ward did have the longest reception by a former Dawg. He accomplished it with his 43-yard touchdown thrown by fellow wide receiver Antwaan Randle El against the Seahawks.
In terms of kicking the ball, two former Georgia players have kicked for points in Super Bowls. Kevin Butler and John Kasay both made one appearance in the big game. Butler went three-for-three in field goals and made all five extra points, while Kasay was one-for-one in field goals and made both of his points-after. Kasay's lone field goal was the longest by a Dawg, connecting from 50 yards right before halftime against the Patriots. It is one of seven 50-yarders in Super Bowl history.
UGASports' Patrick Garbin had an interesting tweet this week on the Super Bowl points scored by former Bulldogs.
Without any offensive players on the field, that list may not grow. But maybe Jordan Davis can score to add to this total on defense, or maybe offense as well. He did score on offense while playing in college. Speaking of defenders, here are Georgia’s leaders in defensive stats in Super Bowls.
On my database, tackle stats in Super Bowls were not exact prior to 1990, so one name that wasn't on the list above was Jake Scott. However, Scott is the only Bulldog who has intercepted a pass in a Super Bowl, and he did it twice.
On special teams, Scott also had six punt returns for 45 yards, including one for 21 yards as well as two kickoff returns for 47 yards. Patrick Pass had four kickoff returns for 102 yards, with one going for 35 by itself.
Tim Jennings was on the list above, and he also has the most tackles on special teams by a Bulldog in a Super Bowl with two.
Two Bulldogs punted the ball in Super Bowls. Bobby Walden did it 11 times for the Steelers, and Bucky Dilts did it four times for the Broncos.
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It will be a long shot, but if any Bulldog from this season’s battle wins the MVP, then Georgia would become the first school to have four different Most Valuable Player awards. They were already the first to have three when Jake Scott, Terrell Davis, and Hines Ward took home the Pete Rozelle Trophy. Since then, USC has also won three.
Another tie-in for Georgia in this game. The well-traveled assistant coach Tracy Rocker, who aided both Mark Richt and Kirby Smart from 2014 to 2017, is the Eagles’ Defensive Line Coach.
The most famous Georgia tie-in in terms of coaching in the history of Super Bowls was Johnny Rauch. Rauch set records for the Bulldogs as Georgia’s signal caller in the 1940s and then later became the Oakland Raiders Head Coach. He led them against Vince Lombardi’s Packers in Super Bowl II. Two seasons later, he was out of Oakland and replaced by a guy named John Madden.
One last Georgia tie-in, possible starting left tackle Earnest Greene III’s father played for the Chargers when they lost to the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX.
