Conference USA Well-Represented in Super Bowl XXXIX

Conference USA will be represented by 12 former players with ties to current or future members in Super Bowl XXXIX on Sunday, February 6 in Jacksonville, Fla. One New England Patriot and five Philadelphia Eagles players hail from current C-USA schools, along with three Patriots and three Eagles from future members. They will battle each other in pro football’s biggest game for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. In addition, nine assistant coaches with Conference USA ties will also be involved in the game.

The lone Patriot with ties to a current C-USA school is third-year wide receiver Deion Branch, a two-time all-league selection while at Louisville. Branch was the star of the Patriots AFC Championship game victory at Pittsburgh, catching a 60-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady for the game’s first touchdown and later rushing for another score.

Four Eagles from C-USA schools are slated to start in Sunday’s game. Wide receiver Todd Pinkston, a former star at Southern Miss, will be joined on the starting offensive unit by left guard Artis Hicks, a third-year pro out of Memphis. Philadelphia’s special teams are led by two former Conference USA players. Veteran kicker David Akers has become one of the NFL’s most productive kickers since his departure from Louisville, while rookie J.R. Reed, a former USF standout, is the Eagles top kick returner.

Veteran QB Jeff Blake, who established numerous passing records at East Carolina, is playing the first Super Bowl of his 13-year NFL career. Blake is one of the Eagles backup quarterbacks to All-Pro Donovan McNabb.

An additional six players, representing five of the six schools that will join Conference USA for the 2005-06 season, will be lining up in Sunday’s game. Most notable is veteran Marshall product Troy Brown, who has brought back memories of past eras in professional football by playing on offense (wide receiver) and defense (cornerback) this season. Playing alongside Brown in the Pats secondary is former UCF cornerback Asante Samuel, while ex-Rice linebacker Larry Izzo continues to be a special teams ace for the AFC Champions. Former Tulsa star Sam Rayburn is a reserve defensive lineman for Philly, while the Eagles have two backup offensive lineman in Trey Darilek (UTEP) and Steve Sciullo (Marshall).

Philadelphia’s coaching staff has seven members that spent time at either a current or future Conference USA school. Head coach Andy Reid served as the offensive line coach at UTEP in 1987-88, helping the Miners to a 1988 independence Bowl berth against Southern Miss. Assistant head coach Marty Morninweg, former head coach of the Detroit Lions, earned his Master’s degree from UTEP in 1988, where he coached for two seasons. Wide receivers coach David Culley followed both of them in El Paso, serving as the Miners offensive coordinator during the 1989 and 1990 seasons. Special teams coach John Harbaugh has several C-USA ties. He coached at Cincinnati from 1989-96, his brother-in-law is Marquette head men’s basketball coach Tom Crean and his father, Jack, is an Associate Athletic Director at Marquette. Secondary coach Trent Walters was an Assistant Coach twice at Louisville (1972 and from 1986-90), defensive line coach Tommy Brasher was an SMU assistant (1977-81) and quality control assistant Ted Daisher was at Cincinnati (1989-92) and Army (1995-97).

Two Patriots assistants have coaching ties to future C-USA member SMU. Assistant head coach Dante Scarnecchia served two stints as a Mustangs assistant, from 1975-76 and again from 1980-81 as the offensive line coach. Aiding him on those 1980 and 81 SMU teams that were led by the Pony Express of Eric Dickerson and Craig James, was Pats special teams coach Brad Seely.

Players from Conference USA schools have been significant contributors to Super Bowl teams over the past several seasons. Former C-USA players that were members of the past five Super Bowl champions include: RB Antowain Smith (Houston) and DE Bobby Hamilton (Southern Miss) of the 2003 and 2001 New England Patriots, OL Roman Oben (Louisville) and QB Shaun King (Tulane) of the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, QB Chris Redman (Louisville) and DE Adalius Thomas (Southern Miss) of the 2000 Baltimore Ravens and WR Isaac Bruce (Memphis) and OL Ryan Tucker (TCU) of the 1999 St. Louis Rams.