Mizzou Morning Matters

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Win or lose, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton will join elite company when Super Bowl 58 kicks off Sunday: He’ll become just the third former Mizzou player to start consecutive Super Bowls. The others: Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Andy Russell (Super Bowls 9, 10) and San Francisco 49ers defensive back Eric Wright (23, 24).

If you remember last year, Bolton has already made Mizzou Super Bowl history. That happened in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl 57 win over Philadelphia, when he became the first former Mizzou player to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl — his 38-yard fumble return that helped turn the tide against the Eagles in the 38-35 victory.

“That was probably the biggest highlight of my career up to this point,” Bolton told reporters this week in Las Vegas. “Even a chance to win the Super Bowl, I never had a chance to win anything of that magnitude in college or high school. So it was a great experience for sure. But this is a different year, different opportunities, different things ahead. Last year, (Jalen Hurts) dropped ball, I picked it up and scored. I kind of feel like it couldn’t have been easier. It was kind of surreal. I went to the sideline in awe. I watched it on tape and about one in 15 times you get a bounce that easy.”

Should the Chiefs prevail again on Sunday, Bolton and backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert will join more rarified Mizzou air. Only two former Tigers who finished their college careers at Mizzou have won multiple Super Bowls: the aforementioned Russell and Wright, who won four Super Bowls with the 49ers. The list is three if you count practice squad members. That’s because tight end Kendall Blanton started for the Rams in Super Bowl 56, then was a member of the Chiefs’ practice squad during last year’s championship season. (Yes, practice squad members get a ring.)

Two more former Tigers won multiple Super Bowls but had left Mizzou and transferred to other college programs? Keep reading for their names.

Of course, if the Chiefs win Sunday, Gabbert will have the distinction of winning a ring as the backup for two of the most decorated quarterbacks of all time: Tom Brady (Buccaneers, SB 55) and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes.

Here’s the complete list of players who ended their college career at Mizzou and went on to win a Super Bowl:

• Miami defensive back Henry Stuckey: SB 7
• Pittsburgh linebacker Andy Russell: 9, 10
• San Francisco defensive back Eric Wright: 16, 19, 23, 24
• New York Giants running back Tony Galbreath: 21
• New York Giants defensive lineman Jerome Salley: 21
• Washington offensive guard Phil Pettey: 22
• St. Louis linebacker Mike Jones: 34
• New England defensive back Otis Smith: 36
• New England defensive lineman Rick Lyle: 38
• New Orleans quarterback Chase Daniel: 44
• Denver linebacker Shane Ray: 50
• Tampa Bay quarterback Blaine Gabbert: 55
• Los Angeles Rams tight end Kendall Blanton: 56
• Kansas City linebacker Nick Bolton: 57
• Kansas City tight end Kendall Blanton: 57 (practice squad)

Here’s more Mizzou connections to Sunday’s game:

Chiefs assistant special teams coach Andy Hill will become just the second Mizzou football letterman to coach in consecutive Super Bowls. The former Tigers wide receiver (1980-84) and longtime assistant (1996-2019) is one of four former Mizzou coaches on the Chiefs’ staff along with head coach Andy Reid (1989-91), special teams coordinator Dave Toub (1998-00) and outside linebackers coach Ken Flajole (1989-93).

The 49ers staff doesn’t include any former Tiger players, but several former Mizzou staffers work for the club: defensive coordinator Steve Wilks (2021), offensive quality control coach Deuce Schwartz (2021), coaching operations assistant Max Molz (2019-22) and defensive quality control coach Jacob Webster (2021).

WELCOME HOME

Many former Mizzou men’s basketball student-athletes will gather in Columbia the next few days for the program’s reunion weekend, including members of two teams that made the Elite Eight. The 1994 team is celebrating its 30th anniversary, while the 2009 team is celebrating 15 years since reaching West Regional Finals.

Also expected to attend this weekend’s reunion is the head coach who guided that 2009 team into the Elite Eight showdown against Connecticut: former Tigers coach Mike Anderson, who will be joined by his wife Marcheita and son, Michael Jr., a former Tigers player, and will be honored during Saturday’s game against Mississippi State.

SOFTBALL SEASON IS HERE

Mizzou softball kicks off its 2024 season Friday at the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic this weekend at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Florida. The Tigers open the season against No. 13 Utah at 3 p.m. CT, the first of five games for the Tigers over the three-day event.

Tigers coach Larissa Anderson, now in her sixth year at Mizzou, had this to say about the 2024 team during her recent appearance on the “Mizzou Storytellers” podcast: “What’s really special about this team is the intent that they have. I don’t have to go to practice and try to motivate my team or motivate my players. I don’t have to incentivize their work ethic. They have that intent and that drive to be great, which is so unique and very special that I literally don’t stay up at night thinking, OK, how can I get this player to do what she needs to do in order for us to win? I haven’t had that since I’ve been here. So that’s refreshing and a breath of fresh air and just so enjoyable to go to practice every single day.”

After opening with Utah and North Carolina State on Friday, Mizzou takes on Liberty at 3:03 p.m. CT on Saturday in a game that will be televised on MLB Network. The Tigers continue play Saturday against South Alabama (6 p.m.) and Sunday against No. 5 Clemson (9:03 a.m.)

MIZZOU MUSINGS

Former Mizzou football coach and College Football Hall of Famer Gary Pinkel is among the newest members of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. Pinkel and his fellow new committee members, including his former Mizzou athletics director, Baylor’s Mack Rhoades, will serve a three-year term starting this spring. … Congratulations to Bianca Turati, who for the first time since being officially promoted to head women’s tennis coach earned her first victories last weekend against James Madison and Radford. Turati coached the Tigers to two wins last spring as the program’s interim coach but wasn’t officially handed the head-coaching job until May. Her team is in Colorado this weekend for matches against Colorado State (Friday) and Colorado (Sunday). … Mizzou Baseball Fan Day is Saturday, starting at 5 p.m. inside the Devine Pavilion. Fans will have the opportunity to meet and greet the Tigers and their new coaching staff during an autograph session. The event will feature games, activities and inflatables, as well as a live batting practice session. The first 50 fans in attendance will receive a free Mizzou trucker hat.

TIGER TRIVIA

1. Who are the two former Mizzou student-athletes who transferred colleges and later won multiple Super Bowls as players?

2. Who is the only former Mizzou student-athlete to serve on four Super Bowl coaching staffs?

LOOKING AHEAD

Friday, Feb. 9

Track & Field at Music City Challenge (Nashville, Tennessee)

Track & Field at Tyson Invitational (Fayetteville, Arkansas)

Softball vs Utah, 3 p.m., NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic, Gamechanger23 (Clearwater, Florida)

Softball vs N.C. State, 6 p.m., Gamechanger23 (Clearwater, Florida)

Gymnastics at Kentucky, 6 p.m., SEC Network+ (Lexington, Kentucky)

Saturday, Feb. 10

Track & Field at Music City Challenge (Nashville, Tennessee)

Track & Field at Tyson Invitational (Fayetteville, Arkansas)

Tennis at Colorado State, 1:30 p.m. CSURams.com (Fort Collins, Colorado)

Softball vs Liberty, 3:03 p.m., Gamechanger23 (Clearwater, Florida)

Softball vs South Alabama, 6 p.m. Gamechanger23 (Clearwater, Florida)

Men’s Basketball vs. Mississippi State, 7:30 p.m., SEC Network

Sunday, Feb. 11

Softball vs No. 5 Clemson, 9:03 a.m., Gamechanger23 (Clearwater, Florida)

Tennis at Colorado, 11 a.m. (Boulder, Colorado)

Women’s Basketball vs Auburn, 1 p.m., SEC Network

TIGER TRIVIA

1. Defensive lineman John Matuszak, who transferred from Mizzou to University of Tampa, won two Super Bowls with the Raiders (11, 15), and tight end Byron Chamberlain, who transferred from Mizzou to Wayne State, won two Super Bowls with the Broncos (32, 33).

2. Former Mizzou linebacker Woody Widenhofer won four Super Bowls (9, 10, 13, 14) as a Pittsburgh Steelers defensive assistant before returning to his alma mater as head coach in 1985.

LINKS TO CLICK

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