In one regard, the University of Delaware couldn’t lose in the Super Bowl on Sunday night.
That’s because the Blue Hens had an alum on each team in linebacker Troy Reeder with the Los Angeles Rams and defensive tackle Zach Kerr with the Cincinnati Bengals.
In the end, it was Reeder and the Rams hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy as the Rams held off the Bengals 23-20 to win the Super Bowl.
Reeder grew up in Delaware, attending Salesianum before going to Penn State, then transferring to UD in 2016.
Reeder had 2 tackles in the game. He became the first Blue Hens’ player to make a tackle in the Super Bowl since safety Mike Adams had 6 for the Denver Broncos in the 2013 season.
Kerr, who didn’t have a tackle in the game, was part of a Bengals’ defensive line that limited the Rams to just 43 rushing yards while keeping the pressure on Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.
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Kerr was on the field late in the fourth quarter as the Bengals tried to make a goal-line stand. After the Rams had a 1st-and-goal at the Bengals’ 1 yard line with less than 2 minutes left, Stafford tried sneaking the ball up the middle.
He was stopped at the line by the Bengals’ defensive push.
On second down, Stafford found Cooper Kupp in the end zone. Then the Rams defense held off the Bengals.
Reeder became the first UD players to be on a Super Bowl winner since quarterback Joe Flacco and center Gino Gradkowski won it when they were with the Baltimore Ravens in 2012.
Flacco was named the MVP of that game.
Still, UD was one of 28 schools to have 2 or more representatives in the Super Bowl, joining the likes of Georgia, Alabama, LSU and Ohio State. UD was the only FCS program among those schools.
Reeder made his presence felt early. Up 7-0, he stopped Bengals running back Joe Mixon for no gain in the first quarter. He tackled Mixon again for a 1-yard gain in the second quarter. On one play, he even covered star Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase on a short crossing pattern.
As for Delaware natives, Reeder joins Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin as a few handful of players who grew up in Delaware to play on a Super Bowl championship team.
Duron Harmon won three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots from 2013-19, and Wendell Smallwood was with the Eagles when they won it in 2017.
Paul Worrilow got there with the Falcons in 2016.
Randy White, a defensive tackle with the Dallas Cowboys in the 1970s, was the MVP of the championship game in 1979. Wide receiver Steve Watson went with the Denver Broncos in 1986 and 1987.
And defensive end Joe Campbell from Salesianum played in the Raiders’ Super Bowl win over the Eagles in the 1981 season.
On this night, it was Reeder who celebrated.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
