A collection of 109 former NCAA football players were on active rosters for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 31-9 Super Bowl LV victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Tampa on Sunday, Feb. 7.
The former college players represented all divisions of NCAA football and dozens of conferences across the country. The SEC and Big Ten had the most representation in Tampa, combining for 43 players.
LSU ranks at the top with six representatives, while FCS, DII and DIII football all have former players on active rosters.
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Those who played at South Florida, like Kansas City's Austin Reiter and Tampa Bay's Jason Pierre-Paul, returned to their alma mater's Raymond James Stadium for the NFL's championship game. Pierre-Paul's Bucs were the first NFL team in history to host its own Super Bowl. Rookie and 2019 College Football Playoff champion Clyde Edwards-Helaire (LSU) played in his first Super Bowl.
Here is how the active rosters broke down (from the Chiefs' and Buccaneers' official team websites):
2021 Super Bowl rosters: Kansas City Chiefs colleges
| Player | Number | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Allegretti | 73 | G | Illinois |
| Le'Veon Bell | 26 | RB | Michigan State |
| Bashaud Breeland | 21 | CB | Clemson |
| Harrison Butker | 7 | K | Georgia Tech |
| Frank Clark | 55 | DE | Michigan |
| Mike Danna | 51 | DE | Michigan |
| Yasir Durant | 79 | OL | Missouri |
| Clyde Edwards-Helaire | 25 | RB | LSU |
| Rashad Fenton | 27 | CB | South Carolina |
| Eric Fisher | 72 | T | Central Michigan |
| Willie Gay | 50 | LB | Mississippi State |
| Antonio Hamilton | 20 | CB | South Carolina State |
| Mecole Hardman | 17 | WR | Georgia |
| Darius Harris | 47 | LB | Middle Tennessee State |
| Chad Henne | 4 | QB | Michigan |
| Tyreek Hill | 10 | WR | West Alabama |
| Anthony Hitchens | 53 | LB | Iowa |
| Chris Jones | 95 | DT | Mississippi State |
| Nick Keizer | 48 | TE | Grand Valley State |
| Travis Kelce | 87 | TE | Cincinnati |
| Marcus Kemp | 19 | WR | Hawaii |
| BoPete Keyes | 29 | CB | Tulane |
| Daniel Kilgore | 67 | C | Appalachian State |
| Tanoh Kpassagnon | 92 | DE | Villanova |
| Chris Lammons | 45 | DB | South Carolina |
| Patrick Mahomes | 15 | QB | Texas Tech |
| Tyrann Mathieu | 32 | S | LSU |
| Ben Niemann | 56 | LB | Iowa |
| Derrick Nnadi | 91 | DT | Florida State |
| Dorian O'Daniel | 44 | LB | Clemson |
| Alex Okafor | 57 | DE | Texas |
| Mike Pennel | 64 | DT | Colorado State Pueblo |
| Byron Pringle | 13 | WR | Kansas State |
| Martinas Rankin | 74 | T | Mississippi State |
| Austin Reiter | 62 | C | South Florida |
| Mike Remmers | 75 | OL | Oregon State |
| Demarcus Robinson | 11 | WR | Florida |
| Khalen Saunders | 99 | DT | Western Illinois |
| Ricky Seals-Jones | 83 | TE | Texas A&M |
| Anthony Sherman | 42 | FB | UConn |
| L'Jarius Sneed | 38 | DB | Louisiana Tech |
| Daniel Sorensen | 49 | S | BYU |
| Darwin Thompson | 34 | RB | Utah State |
| Juan Thornhill | 22 | S | Virginia |
| Tommy Townsend | 5 | P | Florida |
| Charvarius Ward | 35 | CB | Middle Tennessee State |
| Tim Ward | 90 | DE | Old Dominion |
| Sammy Watkins | 14 | WR | Clemson |
| Armani Watts | 23 | S | Texas A&M |
| Tershawn Wharton | 98 | DT | Missouri S&T |
| Darrel Williams | 31 | RB | LSU |
| Damien Wilson | 54 | LB | Minnesota |
| James Winchester | 41 | LS | Oklahoma |
| Stefen Wisniewski | 61 | G | Penn State |
| Andrew Wylie | 77 | G | Eastern Michigan |
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2021 Super Bowl Rosters: Tampa Bay Buccaneers colleges
| Player | Number | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Adams | 26 | S | UConn |
| Shaquil Barrett | 58 | OLB | Colorado State |
| Tom Brady | 12 | QB | Michigan |
| Cameron Brate | 84 | TE | Harvard |
| Antonio Brown | 81 | WR | Central Michigan |
| Deone Bucannon | 41 | LB/S | Washington State |
| Ross Cockrell | 43 | CB | Duke |
| Lavonte David | 54 | ILB | Nebraska |
| Carlton Davis | 24 | CB | Auburn |
| Khalil Davis | 94 | DL | Nebraska |
| Jamel Dean | 35 | CB | Auburn |
| Mike Edwards | 32 | S | Kentucky |
| Mike Evans | 13 | WR | Texas A&M |
| Leonard Fournette | 28 | RB | LSU |
| Blaine Gabbert | 11 | QB | Missouri |
| William Gholston | 92 | DL | Michigan State |
| Cam Gill | 49 | OLB | Wagner |
| Chris Godwin | 14 | WR | Penn State |
| Ryan Griffin | 4 | QB | Tulane |
| Rob Gronkowski | 87 | TE | Arizona |
| Joe Haeg | 73 | T | North Dakota State |
| Javon Hagan | 34 | S | Ohio |
| Tanner Hudson | 88 | TE | Southern Arkansas |
| Ryan Jensen | 66 | C | Colorado State Pueblo |
| Tyler Johnson | 18 | WR | Minnesota |
| Ronald Jones II | 27 | RB | USC |
| Ted Larsen | 62 | G | North Carolina State |
| Jeremiah Ledbetter | 95 | DL | Arkansas |
| Ali Marpet | 74 | G | Hobart |
| LeSean McCoy | 25 | RB | Pitt |
| Steve McLendon | 96 | DL | Troy |
| Jaydon Mickens | 85 | WR | Washington |
| Scotty Miller | 10 | WR | Bowling Green |
| Kevin Minter | 51 | ILB | LSU |
| Sean Murphy-Bunting | 23 | CB | Central Michigan |
| Anthony Nelson | 98 | OLB | Iowa |
| Rakeem Nunez-Roches | 56 | DL | Southern Mississippi |
| Patrick O'Connor | 79 | DL | Eastern Michigan |
| Jason Pierre-Paul | 90 | OLB | South Florida |
| Bradley Pinion | 8 | P | Clemson |
| Donovan Smith | 76 | T | Penn State |
| Ryan Smith | 29 | CB | North Carolina Central |
| Aaron Stinnie | 64 | G | James Madison |
| Ryan Succop | 3 | K | South Carolina |
| Ndamukong Suh | 93 | DL | Nebraska |
| Zach Triner | 97 | LS | Assumption |
| Ke'Shawn Vaughn | 30 | RB | Vanderbilt |
| Vita Vea | 50 | DL | Washington |
| Justin Watson | 17 | WR | Penn |
| Josh Wells | 72 | T | James Madison |
| Devin White | 45 | ILB | LSU |
| Jordan Whitehead | 33 | S | Pitt |
| Antoine Winfield Jr. | 31 | S | Minnesota |
| Tristan Wirfs | 78 | T | Iowa |
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Breakdown by college
Overall, 68 different NCAA colleges are represented in this year's Super Bowl.
Here are all the schools with at least three players in Super Bowl LV:
| School | Number of players |
|---|---|
| LSU | 6 |
| Clemson | 4 |
| Iowa | 4 |
| Michigan | 4 |
| Central Michigan | 3 |
| Minnesota | 3 |
| Mississippi State | 3 |
| Nebraska | 3 |
| Penn State | 3 |
| South Carolina | 3 |
| Texas A&M | 3 |
Breakdown by Conference
Aside from the Independent BYU, 23 active conferences will be represented in Super LV. Athletes who played in the Pac-10 or Big 12 — which are now the Pac-12 and Big Ten, respectively — are also represented in the chart, but not included in the total count of 23.
Here are all the conferences represented at least once:
Note: The FCS has eight total players, DII has seven and DIII has one, respectively.
| Conference | Number of players |
|---|---|
| SEC | 24 |
| Big Ten | 19 |
| ACC | 10 |
| Mid-American | 7 |
| Big 12 | 6 |
| Conference USA | 6 |
| Pac-12 | 5 |
| Big East | 4 |
| American | 3 |
| Colonial (FCS) | 3 |
| Mountain West | 3 |
| RMAC (DII) | 2 |
| Mid-Eastern (FCS) | 2 |
| Missouri Valley Football Conference (FCS) | 2 |
| Ivy League | 2 |
| SoCon | 1 |
| Sun Belt | 1 |
| Pac-10 | 1 |
| Independent | 1 |
| Northeast (FCS) | 1 |
| GLIAC (DII) | 1 |
| Great American (DII) | 1 |
| Great Lakes Valley (DII) | 1 |
| Gulf South (DII) | 1 |
| Northeast-10 (DII) | 1 |
| Liberty League (DIII) | 1 |
