There’s something in the Norman water. For the second successive season, the Oklahoma Sooners have dominated the rosters of the two teams competing in the Super Bowl. The SEC newcomers will have six former players playing as the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers compete in Super Bowl 58.
Oklahoma Sooners Send Six Studs to Super Bowl 58
If you’re an NFL team looking to secure a successful run to the Super Bowl, sending scouts to the Sooners might be the most efficient use of your resources. Oklahoma has provided the most players on Super Bowl rosters for the second successive season, sending six players to Las Vegas for the NFL’s showcase finale.
When the Chiefs and 49ers kick off Super Bowl 58 in Allegiant Stadium — home to the 2023 Mountain West runner-up UNLV Rebels — six players who began their careers with Oklahoma will be suited up and ready to shine in the national spotlight.
Blake Bell, Creed Humphrey, and James Winchester make a second Super Bowl appearance in as many seasons for the Chiefs, while rookie Wanya Morris is the fourth Sooner on the Kansas City roster. Meanwhile, Trent Williams and Brayden Willis will represent the 49ers as San Francisco looks to unseat Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid from their perch on top of the NFL.
The presence of multiple former Oklahoma offensive linemen on the Super Bowl 58 rosters is a testament to the program’s continuing success under renowned offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh. Since he arrived in 2013, the Sooners have been a consistent force in the trenches, with the unit recognized as the best in the nation as the 2018 Joe Moore Award winner.
Humphrey, Williams Lead Sooners’ Stellar Offensive Line Contingent at Super Bowl 58
Kansas City center Humphrey’s rise to college football dominance coincided with the arrival of the Oklahoma offensive line coach. After redshirting in 2017, the Sooners’ standout embarked on a three-year reign of terror that included All-Big 12, All-American, and Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year honors in multiple seasons before his second-round selection of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Although he was a five-star recruit of the Tennessee Volunteers with Freshman All-American honors in 2019, his transfer to the Sooners and tutelage under Bedenbaugh helped offensive tackle Morris to a third-round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. Building on an All-Big 12 campaign in his final college season, Morris started four of 14 appearances for the Chiefs this year.
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Despite Bedenbaugh’s clear influence on the program, Oklahoma has a history of producing offensive line talent, best illustrated in Super Bowl 58 by veteran tackle Williams. Before his first-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft and subsequent multiple All-Pro nods, the 49ers’ bookend was a two-time All-Big 12 honoree and consensus All-American as a standout tackle for the Sooners.
Outside of stellar offensive line play, two former Oklahoma tight ends will line up on opposing Super Bowl 58 sidelines.
Willis parlayed a five-year, 998-yard, 13-touchdown career in Norman that included All-Big 12 honors in 2018 into a seventh-round draft selection by San Francisco, and he’ll suit up for the 49ers in Las Vegas. The former Sooner has featured on 11% of the team’s offensive snaps and 58% of their special teams plays.
Meanwhile, Chiefs tight-end Bell is tied for the most highly decorated Sooner in Super Bowl 58. A former quarterback who made eight starts under center for Oklahoma in 2013, his transformation to tight end in 2014 led to 214 yards and four touchdowns, a fourth-round selection in the 2015 NFL Draft, and two Super Bowl rings in two different stints in Kansas City.
Bell is tied with teammate and long-snapper Winchester, who followed in his father’s footsteps as a special-teams standout for the Sooners. An undrafted free agent in 2013, the Oklahoma product was picked up by the Chiefs in 2015, starting a sensational run that has included two Super Bowl rings and multiple contract extensions.
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The six Sooners suiting up in Super Bowl 58 are the most from any college football program, one more than the Georgia Bulldogs. Oklahoma produced six Super Bowl players a year ago, with Jalen Hurts, Lane Johnson, and Orlando Brown joining Humphrey, Winchester, and Bell in Glendale for Super Bowl 57.
It’s the second successive season that the Sooners have led all college football programs in Super Bowl representation. While they might not have landed a college conference title since 2020, if you’re an NFL team looking to land the ultimate prize, Oklahoma is the program providing a pipeline to pro success.
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