Utah's Super Bowl Legacy: Which college has most Super Bowl players?

UTAH (ABC4) — As Super Bowl LVII comes around the corner, it is time for Utahns to review their state’s football legacy.

While Steve Young and Jim MacMahon are household names (and we’ll return to them shortly), there are over 50 other players from Utah colleges who have played in a Super Bowl stadium.

Quantity

In terms of statistics, out of the 56 players we found to have played for both a Utah college and a Super Bowl-worthy team, 60% of those left with a Super Bowl ring. While higher than the odds, that percentage changes drastically when breaking down Utah players by colleges.

Both Utah and BYU had just over 20 players who have played in a Super Bowl game, BYU with 23 players and Utah with 21. However, only one-third of former Utah players were on a winning Super Bowl team as opposed to nearly 75% of former BYU players.

Utah State had 6 players who played for winning Super Bowl teams and 10 players in total, while Weber State totaled 2 players with one having been on a winning team.

Quality

So BYU’s football legacy includes more Super Bowl winners, but what does that say about the quality of players? Because an exhaustive deep dive into 53 players would be exhausting, here is a feature on some players who have best carried out Utah’s football legacy.

Steve Young – BYU

The Hall of Fame football legend Steve Young joined the San Francisco 49ers in 1987 serving as a backup quarterback for another Hall of Fame name, Joe Montana. Fast forward four years and Young had taken over as the starting quarterback, following Montana’s injury, and by 1997 became one of two quarterbacks ever to win six NFL passing crowns. It was shortly after in 1994 that Young not only played in Super Bowl XXIX but led his team to victory throwing a Super Bowl record of 6 touchdowns. It was then that he took the title of Super Bowl MVP. Talk about representing Utah well.

Fun Facts: Young was born in Salt Lake City but attended High School in Connecticut. His first name is actually Jon and he is left-handed. He not only attended Brigham Young’s University but descended from him.

Other notable players from BYU include Jim MacMahon, Golden Richards, and Kyle Van Noy.

Marv Fleming – Utah

A Utah Super Bowl legacy article could not be complete without mentioning Marv Fleming. Fleming was the first NFL player to ever play in five Super Bowls and win four. He played seven seasons from 1962-69 as a tight end for the Packers before playing for the Dolphins until 1970.

Fun facts: Fleming is originally from Longview, Texas but played for the University of Utah. After his football career, he went into Real Estate. He also enjoyed skateboarding and skiing in later years.

Other notable players from the University of Utah are Roy Jefferson, Manny Fernandez and Paul Kruger.

Bobby Wagner – Utah State

Unlike the other two historic players, Bobby Wagner still plays in the NFL. While the linebacker played at Utah State, he was deemed “The Hardest Hitter” by The Sporting News for leading the conference in tackles three seasons in a row. Wagner played in Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014 for the Seahawks beating the Broncos 43-8. He is currently playing for the Rams. Wagner had the most tackles of any active player in the NFL as of 2022, according to USA Today.

Fun Facts: Wagner is a Los Angeles native. He is good at the game pool and known in his former team for his sense of humor.

Other notable players from Utah State University are Robert Turbin, Darwin Thompson and Lionel Aldridge.

The state of Utah has a rich Super Bowl history regardless of college divisions. So this Super Bowl Sunday, be proud of all the players that got their start in the great Beehive State.