Sixty-one former Ohio State football players have participated in the Super Bowl.
Thirty-two former Ohio State football players have won a Super Bowl.
No Buckeye, however, has ever won the Super Bowl with two different teams.
Malcolm Jenkins has a chance to change that on Sunday.
Jenkins won his first NFL championship in his first season out of Ohio State, when the then-rookie cornerback helped lead the New Orleans Saints to their first-ever Super Bowl win.
Eight years later, the now-veteran safety will attempt to help the Philadelphia Eagles do the same when they face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII on Sunday (6:30 p.m., NBC) at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
The Eagles, who were 4.5-point underdogs as of Friday according to VegasInsider.com, will certainly be in for a challenge on Sunday, as the Patriots – led by quarterback Tom Brady – look to win their sixth Super Bowl in 17 years.
"We’ve got a lot of respect for that team," Jenkins told reporters in Minneapolis on Monday. "They’re a well-coached, well-prepared team, obviously with the best quarterback to ever do it."
Given his Buckeye roots and Brady’s Wolverine roots, though, that’s only more reason for Jenkins to be motivated for Sunday.
"If we win, that would mean that I beat a very, very famous Michigan alum," Jenkins told reporters on Wednesday.
Jenkins’ Eagles, who have embraced the underdog mantra to the point of some of his teammates actually wearing dog masks after games, believe they can pull off the upset on Sunday night.
"We feel really good about the players that we have in our locker room as well," Jenkins said Monday. "Our defense, our offense, our special teams groups, our coaches have us well-prepared every week, so we’re excited to be able to have the opportunity to compete against a team like that on a stage like this."
Jenkins – whose Saints beat another one of the NFL’s all-time great quarterbacks, Peyton Manning, in his first Super Bowl appearance – won’t be the first Buckeye to play in the Super Bowl with two different teams. Seven previous Buckeyes – Bob Brudzinski, Mike Tomczak, Pete Johnson, Ryan Pickett, Ted Ginn, Tom Tupa and William Roberts – have made Super Bowl appearances with multiple franchises. None of those Buckeyes, however, were able to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in two different uniforms (Roberts was on two Super Bowl-winning teams, but both with the New York Giants; the New England Patriots lost in his only Super Bowl appearance with that franchise).
| Player | Position | Team One | Result(s) | Team Two | Result(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOB BRUDZINSKI | LB | St. Louis Rams | Loss (1980) | Miami Dolphins | Loss (1983), Loss (1985) |
| PETE JOHNSON | RB | Cincinnati Bengals | Loss (1982) | Miami Dolphins | Loss (1985) |
| MIKE TOMCZAK | QB | Chicago Bears | Win (1986) | Pittsburgh Steelers | Loss (1996) |
| WILLIAM ROBERTS | G | New York Giants | Win (1987), Win (1991) | New England Patriots | Loss (1997) |
| TOM TUPA | P | New England Patriots | Loss (1997) | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Win (2003) |
| RYAN PICKETT | DT | St. Louis Rams | Loss (2002) | Green Bay Packers | Win (2011) |
| TED GINN | WR | San Francisco 49ers | Loss (2013) | Carolina Panthers | Loss (2016) |
| MALCOLM JENKINS | DB | New Orleans Saints | Win (2010) | Philadelphia Eagles | TBD (2018) |
Jenkins says he is in a "totally different" place in his career now than he was during his Super Bowl appearance with the Saints, but he has drawn from that experience in telling his current Eagles teammates to "embrace the moment."
"My first year, I was so nervous and excited about the game that I never left the hotel room the entire week," Jenkins said. "And now, I think back on it and it’s been so long, thinking that I would get back here, it’s eight years later. You don’t know when the next time you’ll come back. So you got to enjoy the moment, enjoy all the things that we’ve worked so hard to get to. Obviously prepare like you need to, take care of your body while we out here, don’t get distracted, but enjoy the moment."
Having been a part of the Saints' first (and to this point, still only) Super Bowl victory, Jenkins is motivated by the fact that the Eagles are also still looking for their first Super Bowl win.
"I’ve been thinking about that since I arrived in Philly," Jenkins said. "I know what that looks like, when I was in New Orleans with a team that had never been to the Super Bowl – let alone win one – and I saw what it meant to that city. And Philly being a similar fan base, very, very passionate, never being able to have that taste of victory at the end of the year; yeah, I think about that a lot."
Seven other Buckeyes have won multiple Super Bowl rings – Roberts, John Frank, Mike Vrabel, Morris Bradshaw, Nate Ebner, Paul Warfield and Pepper Johnson – but all of them achieved the feat with the same team each time, and with no less than four years between titles – half the time it’s been since Jenkins last played on football’s biggest stage.
| Player | Position | Team (Years) |
|---|---|---|
| PAUL WARFIELD | WR | Miami Dolphins (1973, 1974) |
| MORRIS BRADSHAW | WR | Oakland Raiders (1977, 1981) |
| JOHN FRANK | TE | San Francisco 49ers (1985, 1989) |
| PEPPER JOHNSON | LB | New York Giants (1987, 1991) |
| WILLIAM ROBERTS | G | New York Giants (1987, 1991) |
| MIKE VRABEL | LB | New England Patriots (2002, 2004, 2005) |
| NATE EBNER | S | New England Patriots (2015, 2017) |
Jenkins will be the only Buckeye participant in this year’s Super Bowl. Ebner was on the Patriots’ active roster earlier this season, but was placed on injured reserve after suffering a season-ending knee injury in November. Cameron Johnston spent time with the Eagles during the preseason and is currently signed by the team to a futures contract, but is not and has not been a member of the team’s active roster.
A consensus All-American and Jim Thorpe Award winner as college football’s best defensive back during his final season at Ohio State in 2008, Jenkins didn’t want to get into specifics about his Buckeyes career this week, as he prepares to play in one of the biggest games of his professional football career. He did say, though, that Ohio State played a big part in getting him to where he is today – not only as a football player, but as a person.
"Jim Tressel, who was my coach when I was there, has had a heavy influence on my life and who I’ve become as a man. Just taught me so many lessons about leadership and integrity and things outside of the game," Jenkins said Wednesday. "Ohio State holds a special place in my heart."
