History of Connecticut Huskies in the Super Bowl

For Connecticut football fans, a rooting interest in the Super Bowl hasn’t been hard to come by. Only three of the first 49 Super Bowl featured representation from Storrs, but the addition of “L” to the game’s Roman numerals has worked in UConn’s favor: three of the last five “Big Games” have featured a Connecticut alum, including a de facto civil war in last year’s 55th edition.

Alas, any Connecticut rooting interests in this year’s game went by the wayside when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL’s Divisional playoff round two weeks ago. The defending champion Bucs featured two former Husky defenders on their roster, with safety Andrew Adams working alongside Blidi Wreh-Wilson. Los Angeles will instead battle the Cincinnati Bengals on Feb. 13 at their home of SoFi Stadium (6:30 p.m. ET, NBC).

Though Husky fans will have to do a little extra work to figure out who to root for this time around, we hope that this look back into the team’s Super Bowl history will help make the week left before kick off go by just a little faster.

RB Nick Giaquinto, Washington (XXVII, XVIII)

Anyone familiar with Connecticut athletics would probably expect Giaquinto to appear in the World Series rather than the Super Bowl. After all, the Bridgeport native spent nearly three decades as the baseball coach at Sacred Heart, overseeing the program’s transition to Division I at the turn of the century. But his first on-field impact came on the gridiron, where he still stands as UConn’s single-game rushing king at 277, earned against Holy Cross in November 1976.

Giaquinto was a man of many talents on the football field, earning the respect of legendary head coach Joe Gibbs, who labeled him “The Trashman” upon his 1981 arrival from Miami. Washington’s pair of NFC titles in the 1980s featured Giaquinto, who earned a championship at the end of the strike-shortened 1982-83 season, when the Redskins topped his former Dolphins employers 27-17. Though a repeat win over the Los Angeles Raiders wasn’t to be in the following season, Giaquinto played a role in the lone Washington touchdown drive in the 38-9 defeat. Facing a three-yard third down, Giaquinto’s 14-yard reception from Joe Theismann put the bearers of burgundy at the cusp of the Los Angeles red zone. John Riggins would score from a yard out five plays later.

TE Brian Kozlowski, Atlanta (XXXIII)

The Huskies’ all-time leader in tight end receptions and yardage, Kozlowski went on to play 14 NFL seasons. His most productive professional seasons came with the Atlanta Falcons, where he partook in the team’s unlikely run to the 33rd Super Sunday.

Kozlowski became the first Husky to be part of a Super Bowl starting lineup, working as both a fullback (in relief of backfield staple Bob Christian) and tight end in Atlanta’s 34-19 defeat at the hands of the Denver Broncos. He earned a five-yard reception from Chris Chandler in the second quarter (part of a drive that ended with a Morten Andersen field goal) and also took back a kickoff 16 yards on the opening frame.

RB Donald Brown, Indianapolis (XLIV)

Just over nine months after Brown became the first Husky to see hear his name called during the first round of the NFL Draft, he partook in the Colts’ run at both perfection and the Super Bowl in his rookie season as a spell option behind primary veteran Joseph Addai. The all-time leading rusher in UConn history would earn 29 yards on five touches in a 31-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

Though Brown never made it back to the Super Bowl, he did play a sizable role in Indianapolis postseason lore four years later when he scored the first two touchdowns in the Colts’ Wild Card comeback from a 28-point deficit against the Kansas City Chiefs.

CB Robert McClain, Carolina (50)

After a strong career with both the Huskies’ secondary and punt return units, McClain was made one of the final picks of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. Though the Panthers made him one of their last training camp cuts before the 2011 season got underway, he made his way back to Charlotte four years later after some nomadic experiences through Jacksonville, Atlanta, and New England.

McClain returned to the Panthers with three weeks remaining in their 15-win season in 2015 and was inserted into the starting lineup after an injury to Bene Benwikere. He would partake in a respectable Carolina defensive effort in an otherwise disappointing 24-10 loss to the Denver Broncos, earning four tackles and two pass breakups (one of three defenders to do so in the game). In the latter category, McClain was credited with busting a third down Peyton Manning pass inside the red zone that forced the Broncos to settle for a field goal.

FB Anthony Sherman, Kansas City (LIV, LV)

Along with Dustin Colquitt, Eric Fisher, and Travis Kelce, Sherman was around for the earliest days of the Chiefs’ rise to power, arriving in Kansas City through a 2013 trade with Arizona. The fullback nicknamed “Sausage” was used to big “Bowl” experience, having served as UConn’s leading receiver in the memorable trip to the Fiesta against Oklahoma in 2011.

Sherman was mostly used for blocking and special teams purposes by the time Kansas City was ready to compete for bigger trophies but nonetheless earned his long-sought ring when the Chiefs topped the San Francisco 49ers in the game’s 54th edition. As he announced his retirement in March, last season’s return trip (a 31-9 loss to Tampa Bay that saw Sherman earn a tackle on a kickoff) served as the final game of a decade-long career that netted All-Pro honors in 2014 and a Pro Bowl invite in 2018.

S Andrew Adams, Tampa Bay (LV)

Last season’s Super Bowl was the first to feature competing Connecticut Huskies, as Adams’ Buccaneers squared off against Sherman’s Chiefs. Having developed a lasting NFL case for himself after joining the league as an undrafted free agent in 2016, Adams rejoined the Buccaneers for their run to the Super Bowl after a Philadelphia interlude during the 2021 preseason.

Though Adams was mostly relegated to special teams in the triumph over the Chiefs, he played a role in getting the Buccaneers to that spot in the first place: it was an Adams pass breakup of Aaron Rodgers’ would-be chance to tie the game that led to the Green Bay Packers’ fateful decision to kick a field goal in the NFC title game.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags