The biggest event in sports is set to kick off this Sunday from Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The NFC’s Seattle Seahawks and the AFC’s New England Patriots will face off on the 60th anniversary of the NFL’s highest honor.
In this year's Super Bowl, the Gamecocks will be represented with three former players on the teams' rosters. The Seahawks' leader and green dot linebacker Ernest Jones IV will go for his second Lombardi, while teammate and safety Nick Emmanwori will look to cap off a rookie season as not only a Defensive Rookie of the Year finalist but a champion as well. In New England, cornerback Marcellas Dial Jr. has found a home as a reserve cornerback and prominent special teamer but will not be playing in the game Sunday due to an Achilles injury he suffered prior to the season.
Jones, who was a permanent captain his junior year with the Gamecocks, has taken that attitude not only to Seattle but also serving as a captain for the Los Angeles Rams en route to a franchise-record 145 tackles in the 2023 season.
Now as a member of the “Dark Side” in Seattle, Jones led the team in interceptions, with five, in addition to tackles, totaling 126 in the regular season.
The Seahawks, becoming one of the league's best defenses behind second-year head coach Mike Macdonald, have rewritten the narrative. Coming into the season, most journalists and pundits had Seattle missing the playoffs due to a loaded NFC West division and doubts about quarterback Sam Darnold. However, the message in-house could not be more of the opposite.
“We did not care,” Macdonald said following the NFC Championship. "It's about us. It's always been about us and what we do, and now we're going to the Super Bowl."
Scheming a defense that held opponents to a league-low 17.1 points per game, Macdonald has one more offense to crack in hopes of his first Super Bowl at age 38.
Youth and speed have defined the defense for Seattle, and no one exemplifies it better than Emmanwori. Playing for Gamecock head coach Shane Beamer last season, Emmanwori was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award for the nation's best defensive back. But after an injury in the first series of his NFL debut, Emmanwori missed three games with a high ankle sprain.
Nonetheless, after his return to the lineup, Emmanwori hit the ground running, playing anywhere from corner to safety or even linebacker and coming off the edge. His versatility has made him extremely hard for opposing offenses to plan for and has even helped him draw comparisons to Seattle legend Kam Chancellor.
"We ask a lot of (Emmanwori)," Macdonald said. "He does things at all three levels of our defense, which is a pretty unique thing. And he's a big reason why we're sitting here today."
While Dial will not suit up for Patriot head coach Mike Vrabel's defense in Super Bowl LV, his unit will be the toughest Seattle has seen in the postseason, featuring playmakers at all three levels.
Finding advantages against a well-rounded team like Seattle is very difficult. However, the extra week to prepare will hopefully pay dividends as Vrabel attempts to get his first Super Bowl win as a head coach.
Returning to play for the organization where he won three championships as a player, Vrabel has brought the same chip on his shoulder that made him such a fierce competitor.
“(Vrabel) was a dog. He instills that if you already don't have it,” Patriot wide receiver Stefon Diggs said. “The guys that he picked to be on this team and how he built it from the ground up, he built it the right way. He made sure that he wanted guys that wanted to win.”
After bringing in Vrabel, he immediately shifted the culture, winning 14 games in year one despite the team only winning eight total over the past two seasons.
Getting the right pieces, like Diggs, around second-year quarterback Drake Maye has not only allowed him to be an MVP finalist but realize his role as the team's leader.
For the defense, the front seven is crucial for the Patriots. Getting pressure on Darnold has been the recipe to defeat him his entire career.
Defensive tackle Milton Williams, who is going for back-to-back Super Bowls after winning one with the Philadelphia Eagles last season, will have to be an X-factor for the Patriots to come out victorious.
Emerging as one of the best interior defensive linemen in the league, Williams will have a favorable matchup against the interior of Seattle's offensive line.
What’s next?
Either the Patriots or Seahawks will be crowned the Super Bowl LV Champion on Sunday night. The game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock.