Former Sabino High School and Arizona Wildcats standout Brooks Reed will make history today for Tucson when he participates in the Super Bowl for the Atlanta Falcons against the New England Patriots.
Reed, a linebacker for the Falcons, will become the first Tucson-born player to participate in football’s grandest game. The only other player born in Southern Arizona to be on a Super Bowl roster was punter Mitch Hoopes, a Bisbee native who was also a former Arizona standout who played with the Dallas Cowboys in Super X against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
A few players raised in Southern Arizona have advanced to the Super Bowl but they were not born in Tucson:
— Cholla graduate Vance Johnson, who played in three Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos, was born in Trenton, N.J.
— Amphi graduate Riki Ellison, who won two Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers, was born in Christchurch, New Zealand.
— Salpointe graduate John Fina, who played in two Super Bowls with the Buffalo Bills, was born in Rochester, Minn.
— Former Sahuaro standout Rodney Peete, a member of the Carolina Panthers’ Super Bowl team in 2004, was born in Mesa.
NFL players born in Southern Arizona
Bold indicates Super Bowl participant
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
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Arizona Wildcats Super Bowl Players
Bold denotes Super Bowl champion
Source: ArizonaWildcats.com
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
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