By JAMES SCALIA
Many people will be talking about Super Bowl LI matchup Feb. 5 between New England Patriots’ legend Tom Brady and The Atlanta Falcons’ franchise quarterback Matt Ryan, but there are a few players that are under the radar for your average NFL fan. Although the New York Giants and the New York Jets didn’t make it to the big game, New Jersey is still being represented by some players from both conference champions.
Chris Hogan was signed by the Patriots this offseason when the Buffalo Bills failed to match New England’s offer. Many analysts criticized the Patriots for overpaying for a third wide receiver, but head coach Bill Belichick and company were confident that he would fit their scheme.
Hogan had a decent regular season as he recorded four receiving touchdowns, but in the AFC Championship he became unstoppable. Hogan led the team with nine receptions for 180 yards and two touchdowns, matching star Falcons receiver Julio Jones’ same exact stat line from the NFC Championship.
Of course, before Hogan ever suited up in an NFL game, he was a highly-respected student and athlete at Ramapo High School. Ramapo football head coach Drew Gibbs remembers. “In the locker room Chris was a quiet leader who lead by example, but he was always extremely competitive,” Gibbs said.
Gibbs compared Hogan’s AFC championship performance to his first start in high school when he was a sophomore. Hogan had a huge game where he had five catches for 186 yards and one touchdown in the State Championship.
Coach Gibbs also explained that the community has been following him throughout his career and his performance last Sunday took the town and school’s excitement “over the top”. Hogan will be looking to have some success in the Super Bowl against a Falcons team that doesn’t have the most respected defense.
On Super Bowl Sunday, the opposite sideline will feature another talented receiving core that includes Pro Bowler Julio Jones, the shifty Taylor Gabriel and an emerging target in tight end Austin Hooper.
Last but not least, newly signed receiver Mohamed Sanu has paid dividends for Atlanta down the stretch. He scored a touchdown in the past two playoff games and he’s helped take a lot double coverage schemes off of Julio Jones. After playing with the Bengals for four seasons, he never really found a great rhythm as a wide receiver.
Falcons’ offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan used Sanu’s skill sets to help more in their passing game. In Cincinnati, Sanu was asked to run the ball and even throw it at times. Sanu quickly grew into his new role as he had career highs for yards, receptions and touchdowns. Even with his success, Sanu doesn’t forget about his humble beginnings in South Brunswick.
Athletic director Elaine McGrath of South Brunswick said, “Mohamed Sanu has returned to the South Brunswick community for the past several years. He is always welcoming and supportive to our students.”
Sanu has also started youth football camps in the New Brunswick area, helping kids understand the fundamentals of football and important life lessons.
“Mohammed has always given back to the community. He is a welcome site when he visits school and games,” said McGrath.
Although New Jersey area doesn’t have direct ties to the Super Bowl, two players on opposing teams represent the state well because of their on and off the field success.
This was a really great and heartwarming story since it highlighted New Jersey players in the Superbowl. I would just like to know more about their experience in New Jersey, and what they did here to lead them to their huge professional success.
I liked the comments from Hogan’s high school coach. This is cool to me, being from the area and having worked in the Wyckoff area and also having friends there, its cool to get some insight on a local legend – especially the story about his first game in High School
The article was well organized and interesting but I think it may have been a good idea to introduce the point that players from New Jersey are playing in the Super Bowl.
Overall very enjoyable to read and learn about local players who are now playing in the Super Bowl.