Before the final whistle blows on Super Bowl 50, Ohio State will have a significant impact on who is crowned the champions of the top professional football league in the world.
| MATCHUP | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina v. Denver | Levi's Stadium (Santa Clara, Calif.) | 6:30 p.m. | CBS |
Former Buckeyes litter the rosters of the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos Sunday. Cornerback Bradley Roby and tight end Jeff Heuerman don the orange and blue of Denver, though the latter won't play as he continues his recovery from a torn ACL. Roby is Denver's nickel corner.
On the opposite side of the field, wide receivers Ted Ginn Jr. and Corey "Philly" Brown join safety Kurt Coleman and offensive lineman Andrew Norwell for the Panthers. All are starters.
The five active Buckeyes in the Super Bowl is more than any other school in Sunday's game, though the SEC has more players overall.
One matchup carries a bit more intrigue than the others, however. Roby and Brown lived with each other at Ohio State first when they played for Jim Tressel and then later Urban Meyer. Now, they get to play for football's biggest prize against one another.
Can't wait to match up against my college roommate/best friend in the bowl @BradRoby_1
— corey brown (@phillybrown10) January 25, 2016
Luckily, their former positions coaches at Ohio State took care of the trash talking this week for them ahead of the biggest game of their lives.
Cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs spoke to the media Wednesday about the latest top-5 recruiting class he helped Meyer secure for the Buckeyes, but predicted his former pupil in Roby would shut out Brown Sunday if the two lined up opposite one another in Santa Clara.
"Come on, man that's a shutout," the always colorful Coombs yelped as he walked away from the podium Wednesday. "Are you serious? Philly won't catch a ball.
"I saw that every day for three years."
Wide receivers coach Zach Smith fired back, popping in some old game film of Brown and telling ESPN.com nothing more needs to be brought up.
"The film doesn't lie," Smith told Austin Ward. "Chirping in an interview is one thing. Pushing play is another."
It no doubt will be a special day for not only Roby and Brown, but the rest of the Buckeyes hope to put their own impression on Super Sunday.
Each is making their first Super Bowl appearance, and the Carolina Buckeyes carried the Panthers over Arizona in the NFC Championship Game two weeks ago. Roby intercepted New England quarterback Tom Brady's game-tying two-point conversion attempt hours earlier to seal the AFC Championship for Denver.
In all, it served as a nice recruiting tool right before the 2016 cycle came to a close. Now Roby and Brown will face off against their best friend, with a host of Buckeyes also vying for a ring.
"We always talked about it, man, but we knew it was a long shot," Brown told Around the NFL this week. "We always talked about playing in the NFL, but for it to happen this early in our careers is ridiculous."
