A little over a year ago, then Nebraska defensive tackle Vincent Valentine made the decision to enter the NFL draft with a year of college eligibility still remaining. His teammate, Maliek Collins, also a junior at that point, had made the same decision two weeks earlier.
It wasn’t a surprise with Collins, who everyone assumed was off the league and had the draft profile to match, but Valentine could’ve gone either way. Injuries kept him out of three games in 2015 and Valentine only recorded 10 total tackles that season. He wasn’t leaving Lincoln on the strongest note and was projected as a fifth- to seventh-round pick. One writer called Valentine’s decision a “critical mistake.”
But we know now that it wasn’t a mistake. Valentine was selected in the third round by the New England Patriots, the most dominant team of this century. He played in 13 games, starting two, and made 19 total tackles in the regular season. Last night, during the Patriots’ win over the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game, Valentine came up with a key stop near the New England goal line, delighting Nebraska’s current defensive line coach:
Blackshirt for Life !!! @TheRealVRVJ pic.twitter.com/b3va7TSbLB
— John Parrella (@Coach_Parrella) January 23, 2017
Parrella never got the chance to coach Valentine, but I presume he would have loved the opportunity. Nevertheless, Valentine’s early departure ended up extending Nebraska’s nation-leading streak of former players in the Super Bowl:
Streak extended.#SuperBowl will be the 24th straight where a Husker has been on the roster.#ProBigRed pic.twitter.com/ast5OCV6hP
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFBNation) January 23, 2017
Valentine and the Patriots were Nebraska’s only chance to keep that streak alive yesterday. Granted, if you only had one chance to do that you’d want the Patriots to be your “horse,” but congratulations to Vince.
Other Alums
Nebraska has one alum in the Super Bowl for the 24th consecutive season, but which school has the most former players in the game?
If you guessed Alabama, you’re right. Sort of. The Crimson Tide has four former players on active rosters for the two Super Bowl teams, but so does LSU, Stanford and…wait for it…Rutgers.
Here are the active rosters for both #Superbowl contenders by college #RiseUp #Patriots pic.twitter.com/39gXpqsjno
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) January 23, 2017
Mike Riley also has two of his former players in the game: Falcons’ offensive lineman Andy Levitre — whose wife watched Atlanta’s playoff win over Seattle at the Georgia Dome while in labor — and Falcons’ running back Terron Ward.
The Grab Bag
- Is there too much money in college football? I don’t know but Michigan is mulling a plan to take its football team to Rome during the final week of spring ball.
- Interesting look at the trend of high school football players enrolling early.
- J.T. Barrett says coordinator changes were part of the reason he returned to Ohio State.
- LSU is no longer taking a live tiger to home games, but still insists upon having one.
Today’s Song of Today
Brandon is the Managing Editor for Hail Varsity and has covered Nebraska athletics for the magazine and web since 2012, Hail Varsity’s first season on the scene. His sports writing has also been featured by Fox Sports, The Guardian and CBS Sports.
