When the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers take the field on Sunday, February 7th for Super Bowl 50, the Vols will be represented by four former players on the respective rosters. Denver quarterback Peyton Manning is the most obvious former Vol on the roster, but the other three are a little less obvious.
Defensive lineman Malik Jackson played for the Vols in 2010 and 2011, totaling 7.5 sacks and 22 tackles for a loss as a defensive end, and punter Britton Colquitt played for Tennessee from 2004-08. Both Jackson and Colquitt are teammates of Manning in Denver. The lone Panther who represents the Vols is offensive lineman Chris Scott, who played for the Vols from 2005-09 and will likely serve as a reserve for the Panthers.
The four Vols in the Super Bowl are the most of any SEC school this year. And that follows a trend from the other 49 Super Bowls as well.
#Vols lead all @SEC schools in all-time #SuperBowl participants with 96!
via @CBSSportshttps://t.co/wvrTwM62W2pic.twitter.com/B8ERSf7qy3
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) January 29, 2016
As noted in the chart above, the Vols have the most former players to play in the Super Bowl of any SEC school. Tennessee has had 96 Super Bowl participants over the last half a century, with Georgia coming in at No. 2 in the SEC with 87.
The Vols have consistently been able to produce NFL talent over the last 50 years, and that talent has found its way onto some of the best teams in the NFL. And in cases like Peyton Manning, those players have been some of the main reasons why their teams made it to the biggest game in professional football.
With more players in the coming years expected to head to the NFL off Tennessee’s current roster, the Vols should have no problem putting more former players in the Super Bowl in the future.
