Former Husker Rex Burkhead Triumphs in Super Bowl LIII

February 4, 2019 | by Tim Curran

In a Super Bowl that lacked a lot of firepower, former Husker running back Rex Burkhead’s 26 yard scamper in the fourth quarter was one of the few plays Sunday night that created a spark. The run helped to set up New England placeckicker Stephen Gostkowski’s game clinching 41 yard field goal and help deliver the Patriots their sixth Super Bowl title in 18 years.

Burkhead was only 11 years old when the Pat’s dynasty began, and now the former Husker and Texas native has his first Super Bowl ring. He may be an unlikely hero to some, but Burkhead’s success will come as no surprise to Husker fans, as Burkhead had achieved folk like status in Lincoln well before his arrival in New England.

The tailback racked up over 3,300 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns in his time at Nebraska, spanning from 2009-2012. Burkhead was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft, where he spent the next three seasons. In 2017 though, Burkhead landed with the Patriots. That season, he played in 10 games, rushing for 264 yards and scoring 5 touchdowns. He also had 30 receptions for 254 yards on the year as well.

His shining moment though came this season in the AFC championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs in January. He scored two touchdowns, including the game winner in overtime to send the Pats through to Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta.

On 7 carries Sunday, Burkhead rushed for 43 total yards, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. It wasn’t flashy, but it was just enough to help deliver a championship for his team. “It’s unbelievable,” Burkhead said during the post game press conference. “It’s something you dream about as a little kid.”

Far from being the lone Husker presence in Atlanta Sunday night, the Super Bowl matchup between the Patriots and the Rams also featured defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh and Los Angeles QBs coach, Zac Taylor. Also, Lincoln Pius alum Greg Zuerlein converted one of his two field goal attempts, nailing a 53 yarder in the first half.

Nate Ebner Becomes Second Buckeye to Win Three Super Bowls

By Dan Hope on February 3, 2019 at 10:05 pm @dan_hope

Mark J. Rebilas – USA TODAY Sports

With the New England Patriots' win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night, Nate Ebner became just the second former Ohio State player ever to win three Super Bowls.

Ebner, who previously won titles with the Patriots in 2015 and 2017, matches Mike Vrabel – who also won all three of his titles with the Patriots, in 2002, 2004 and 2005 – as the only Buckeyes to win the NFL's biggest game three times.

John Simon, who also plays for the Patriots, becomes the 31st different Buckeye to win a Super Bowl in his first appearance in the big game. His highlight of the night came in the second quarter, when he broke up a pass from Rams quarterback Jared Goff at the line of scrimmage.

The full list of former Ohio State players who have won Super Bowls:

BUCKEYES WHO HAVE WON SUPER BOWLS
PLAYER	YEARS (TEAMS)
JIM TYRER	1970 (Kansas City Chiefs)
BOB VOGEL	1971 (Baltimore Colts)
MATT SNELL	1969 (New York Jets)
PAUL WARFIELD	1973, 1974 (Miami Dolphins)
JACK TATUM	1977 (Oakland Raiders)
MORRIS BRADSHAW	1977, 1981 (Oakland Raiders)
NEAL COLZIE	1977 (Oakland Raiders)
JOHN FRANK	1985, 1989 (San Francisco 49ers)
SHAUN GAYLE	1986 (Chicago Bears)
MIKE TOMCZAK	1986 (Chicago Bears)
PEPPER JOHNSON	1987, 1991 (New York Giants)
WILLIAM ROBERTS	1987, 1991 (New York Giants)
JIM LACHEY	1992 (Washington Redskins)
TITO PAUL	1999 (Denver Broncos)
ORLANDO PACE	2000 (St. Louis Rams)
JOE GERMAINE	2000 (St. Louis Rams)
LORENZO STYLES	2000 (St. Louis Rams)
MIKE VRABEL	2002, 2004, 2005 (New England Patriots)
RICKEY DUDLEY	2003 (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
TOM TUPA	2003 (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
SANTONIO HOLMES	2009 (Pittsburgh Steelers)
MALCOLM JENKINS	2010 (New Orleans Saints), 2018 (Philadelphia Eagles)
WILL SMITH	2010 (New Orleans Saints)
A.J. HAWK	2011 (Green Bay Packers)
RYAN PICKETT	2011 (Green Bay Packers)
MATT WILHELM	2011 (Green Bay Packers)
JAKE BALLARD	2012 (New York Giants)
JIM CORDLE	2012 (New York Giants)
NATE EBNER	2015, 2017, 2019 (New England Patriots)
BRADLEY ROBY	2016 (Denver Broncos)
JOHN SIMON	2019 (New England Patriots)

Jake McQuaide, who was also playing in his first Super Bowl, served as the Rams' long snapper in defeat.

How four words shaped Austin Blythe's breakthrough season with the Los Angeles Rams

Jori Epstein, Hawk Central

Published 10:42 a.m. CT Jan. 31, 2019

ATLANTA — Austin Blythe said coaches needed just four words for him.

“You’re staying in there,” the Rams right guard remembers hearing after a 34-0 Week 2 shutout of the Arizona Cardinals.

Blythe was excited.

Williamsburg, Iowa native Austin Blythe took over a starting job for the Rams this year, and quickly emerged as one of the best interior linemen in the NFL.

The Williamsburg, Iowa, native had snagged the job after a season of spotting at center with the Colts in 2016 followed by tagging in for 20 percent of Rams snaps in 2017. Then came a two-game suspension for Rams right guard Jamon Brown. Brown had pleaded guilt to speedy and aggravated DUI in a February 2017 arrest. Blythe played so well filling in that he never relinquished his post.

“I was happy,” he said while preparing for Sunday's Super Bowl against the Patriots. “I continued with the mindset that that was my job to lose and no one was going to take it from me.”

Forget starts. No other Rams player took even a snap during the season from Blythe, who stayed healthy and intact enough to suit up for all 1,100 plays in the regular season and 148 more so far in playoffs. The consistency was key to a Los Angeles line that maintained its five starters through the season. Blythe, left tackle Andrew Whitworth, left guard Rodger Saffold, center John Sullivan and right tackle Rob Havenstein were each on the field at least 94 percent of snaps.

So much pro playing time was new for Blythe, who manned the offensive line at the University of Iowa. But the technique, he says, was familiar.

The owner of three state wrestling titles in Iowa, Blythe says he was already working on leverage at 6 years old.

“Everything in wrestling translates to football,” he said. “Hand placement, leverage, keeping your elbows in, bending at the knees not the hips. All that stuff translates directly to offensive-line play.

“Ultimately, wrestling teaches you all about life. It’s you. There’s no excuses.”

No excuses for lapses on the field, Blythe preached, as he allowed zero sacks all season. No excuses when facing the league’s sixth-best run defense in divisional-round opponent Dallas. The Rams offensive line powered running backs Todd Gurley and C.J. Anderson each to 100-yard games, Anderson gashing Dallas for 123 yards and two touchdowns after ripping off 167- and 132-yard performances as soon as he signed with Los Angeles to spell Gurley in December.

“They’ve been doing a hell of a job up front,” Anderson said. “They played with each other very snap, haven’t missed a snap, which is unheard of at the offensive-line position in the trenches. We go back and forth how we see things, try to see the game the right way, try to see cuts the right way.

“They don’t tell us how to run. We don’t tell them how to block.”

Blythe did make headlines telling fellow linemen how to block the Cowboys, when he said he’d identified Cowboys D-line tendencies well enough to predict “plus-90 percent” of Dallas play calls based on defensive tackles’ pre-snap movements and alignment.

A week later, after the Rams’ overtime win against the Saints, he became an NFC champion.

He thought back to the four words and the 1,248 subsequent snaps on his journey from NFL backup to right-guard stalwart for the best team in the NFC.

Then Blythe glanced down at his phone where a video message from his cheering 2-year-old son, Reed, waited.

This time, the message took six words: We’re going to the Super Bowl.

Twitter: @JoriEpstein