Kendall Blanton Set for Super Bowl LVI
2/13/2022 10:00:00 AM | Football
Blanton the second Missouri tight end to play in a Super Bowl
COLUMBIA, Mo. - When Super Bowl LVI kicks off today, Mizzou Made tight end Kendall Blanton will most likely become the 20th Tiger to play in a Super Bowl game, and the 10th as a starter.
Blanton, who wrapped up his Missouri career in 2018 with 44 career receptions for 476 yards and six touchdowns, signed as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Rams in 2019, and has been on and off their roster ever since. Recently he has been thrust into the Rams' lineup due to a knee injury to regular Tyler Higbee. And he's made the most of his opportunity.
In the Rams' NFC Championship victory over the San Francisco 49ers, the Blue Springs, Missouri native was a key target for quarterback Matt Stafford, catching five passes for 57 yards, including big first-down receptions that set up the tying and winning field goals in the 20-17 Rams victory. Those numbers eclipsed his regular-season totals of four receptions for 37 yards. In the playoffs, he has been targeted seven times, with seven receptions for 75 yards, a touchdown and five first downs.
Blanton will be the second Missouri tight end to play in a Super Bowl, joining Byron Chamberlain who caught three passes for 29 yards in the Denver Broncos' Super Bowl XXXIII win over the Atlanta Falcons.
Mizzou's participation in the Super Bowl dates all the way back to the first two games, when linebackers Bud Abell and Gus Otto played for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders, respectively, in losses to the Green Bay Packers. Former Tigers head coach Warren Powers also started at safety on that Raiders team.
The most decorated Tiger Super Bowl performers are defensive back Eric Wright and linebacker Mike Jones. Wright starred on four Super Bowl winning teams for the 49ers in the 1980s, and intercepted passes in their first two Super Bowl victories over the Cincinnati Bengals and the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowls XVI and XIX. Jones made perhaps the greatest tackle in Super Bowl history when he dragged down Kevin Dyson at the one-yard line on the last play of the game to cinch the St. Louis Rams' 23-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV. Hence his nickname, "The Tackle."
The greatest statistical performance turned in by a Tiger came from defensive end Kony Ealy. During Super Bowl 50 against the Broncos, Ealy tied the Super Bowl record with three quarterback sacks, and also recorded an interception and forced a fumble. The Panthers lost the game 24-10, but Ealy became the first player in Super Bowl history to have an interception and multiple sacks. He was the first player since 1993 to record multiple sacks, an interception and a forced fumble in a postseason game. His sack total tied the Super Bowl record previously shared by Reggie White and Darnell Dockett.
Tigers Who Started in the Super Bowl (9)*
- OLB Gus Otto, Super Bowl II (1967), Oakland Raiders - Loss
- OLB Andy Russell, Super Bowls IX and X (1974, 1975), Pittsburgh Steelers – 2 Wins
- DE John Matuszak, Super Bowls XI and XV (1976, 1980), Oakland Raiders – 2 Wins
- CB Eric Wright, Super Bowls XVI, XIX, XXIII and XXIV (1981, 1984, 1988, 1989), San Francisco 49ers – 4 Wins
- CB Otis Smith, Super Bowls XXXI and XXXVI (1996, 2001), New England Patriots – 1 Loss, 1 Win
- OLB Mike Jones, Super Bowl XXXIV (1999), St. Louis Rams - Win
- OLB Aldon Smith, Super Bowl XLVII (2012), San Francisco 49ers - Loss
- DL Justin Smith, Super Bowl XLVII (2012), San Francisco 49ers - Loss
- OT Justin Britt, Super Bowl XLIX (2014), Seattle Seahawks - Loss
Tigers Who Played in the Super Bowl (19)*
Otto, Russell, Matuszak, Wright, O. Smith, Jones, A. Smith, J. Smith, Britt, and:
- LB Bud Abell, Super Bowl I (1966), Kansas City Chiefs - Loss
- CB Henry Stuckey, Super Bowl VIII (1973), Miami Dolphins - Win
- C Scott Anderson, Super Bowl IX (1974), Minnesota Vikings - Loss
- RB Tony Galbreath, Super Bowl XXI (1986), New York Giants - Win
- DL Jerome Sally, Super Bowl XXI (1986), New York Giants - Win
- TE Byron Chamberlain, Super Bowl XXXIII (1998), Denver Broncos - Win
- DL Ziggy Hood, Super Bowl XLV (2010), Pittsburgh Steelers - Loss
- OLB Shane Ray, Super Bowl 50 (2015), Denver Broncos - Win
- DE Kony Ealy, Super Bowl 50 (2015), Carolina Panthers - Loss
- OT Yasir Durant, Super Bowl LV (2020), Kansas City Chiefs - Loss
(* - year in parentheses indicates the season, Super Bowl was played in the following calendar year)
