Texas is known for its high school football, so it stands to reason that former players would be involved in Super Bowls.
As the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles get ready to face off in Super Bowl LVII in Arizona on Sunday night, here are the players from Texas high schools who will be playing in the game.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes — Tyler/Whitehouse, Texas
The most notable player on this list starred in multiple sports at Whitehouse High School and went on to do great things at Texas Tech and in the NFL. Since Kansas City drafted him in 2017, he has become the face of the franchise and the league in general.
He took over the starting job in 2018 and has since thrown for over 24,000 yards with 192 touchdowns while appearing in two previous Super Bowls, winning one title and earning both a Super Bowl and a regular season MVP award.
This season, he led the Chiefs to a 14-3 record, threw for more than 5,000 yards, and may win another MVP while appearing in his third Super Bowl in five years.
Quarterback Shane Buechele — Arlington, Texas
Buechele played at Arlington Lamar High School before heading to the University of Texas-Austin and eventually winding up at SMU.
He signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2021 and has yet to appear in a game while serving as the team’s third-string quarterback behind Mahomes and Chad Henne.
Running back Ronald Jones — McKinney, Texas
Jones played three years of varsity football at McKinney North High School, where he ran for 4,800 yards before attending the University of Southern California.
He became the Trojans’ fifth-leading rusher and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He spent four seasons in Tampa and was a member of the team that beat the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV.
He signed with Kansas City in the offseason and has just 70 yards on the season as part of a rushing attack that has leaned heavily on rookie Isaih Pacheco.
Linebacker Nick Bolton — Frisco, Texas
Bolton played at Frisco Lone Star High School and continued his career at the University of Missouri, where he was a finalist for the 2020 Butkus Award and led the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in tackles.
Kansas City used a second-round selection in 2021 to draft Bolton, and he is now the starting middle linebacker with nearly 300 tackles in two seasons.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Quarterback Jalen Hurts — Channelview, Texas
Hurts is the other player many media outlets have spotlighted as a starting quarterback amid a breakout season. His journey has been well-documented as he went from a high school star playing for his dad at Channelview High School to leading two separate college teams (Alabama and Oklahoma) to the College Football Playoff.
Philadelphia used a second-round pick on him in 2020, and he got his opportunity to start when Carson Wentz continued to sustain injuries.
This season, Hurts led the Eagles to the best record in the NFC while becoming an MVP candidate with 3,701 yards and 22 touchdowns through the air and an additional 760 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground.
Left Tackle Lane Johnson — Groveton, Texas
Johnson was a quarterback at Groveton High School and began his college career at Kilgore Junior College before transferring to Oklahoma and becoming an elite offensive tackle.
The Eagles drafted Johnson with the fourth overall pick in 2013. While he struggled to begin his career, he has now become one of the best left tackles in the game and has been named to four Pro Bowls. He was also on the Eagles’ Super Bowl-winning team in 2018.
Linebacker Kyron Johnson — Arlington, Texas
Johnson is the second of two Arlington Lamar High School alumni playing in Super Bowl LVII.
He is a rookie from the University of Kansas and plays primarily on special teams.
Defensive Tackle Milton Williams — Crowley, Texas
Williams played at Crowley High School and continued his career at Louisiana Tech.
The Eagles selected him in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and he has become a rotational player along the defensive line.
He has 66 tackles and six sacks in his career and has made two starts.
Wide Receiver Tyrie Cleveland (Practice Squad) — Houston, Texas
Cleveland is a Westfield High School alumnus who played at the University of Florida.
He spent the past three years in the Denver Broncos organization and has not appeared in a game for the Eagles as a practice squad member.
Wide Receiver Greg Ward (Practice Squad) — Tyler, Texas
Ward played at Tyler High School and went on to star as a quarterback at the University of Houston, finishing with the fourth-most career passing yards and fifth-most touchdown passes in Cougars history.
He was considered undersized for the position in the NFL, and teams wanted to convert him to wide receiver because of his speed.
Ward has been on and off the Eagles roster for the past four years and has even played in other leagues. He has 88 catches for 768 yards and ten touchdowns in his NFL career.
Defensive Tackle Marvin Wilson (Practice Squad) — Bellaire, Texas
Lastly is nose tackle Marvin Wilson, a former Bellaire Episcopal High School player. He starred at Florida State and even generated some first-round buzz as a prospect but ended up going undrafted in 2021.
He has played in two NFL games with seven tackles.
Overall, there are 11 players in this year’s Super Bowl from Texas (four on the Chiefs and seven on the Eagles), with eight of them on active rosters.
There are also other players in this game, who are not from Texas but played at Texas colleges, like Eagles cornerback Zech McPhearson (Texas Tech) and tight end Grant Calcaterra (SMU), and Chiefs offensive lineman Lucas Niang (TCU).
Catch Super Bowl LVII at 5:30 p.m. CT on Sunday.