Columbus boasts a Super Bowl roster of its own
Atlanta Falcons linebacker Philip Wheeler will continue a strong tradition in Columbus when he suits up on Sunday for Super Bowl LI.
Wheeler is one of 13 Columbus-area products to reach the NFL’s title game. Only two — Chiefs defensive lineman Chuck Hurston and Oakland Raiders defensive lineman Otis Sistrunk — walked off the field victorious.
Rod Hood, who played at Carver and appeared in Super Bowl XXXIX and XLIII, said during his playing days that if his team was out of the running for a championship, he was always rooting for someone from back home. It also drove him to reach the pinnacle that several people from his hometown made it to in their careers.
“To see guys like Nate Odomes do it and then Brentson, who was really close to me, to see him do it and for him to talk about it is special,” Hood said. “It just really hit home then and let me know I could do this. That motivation came from somebody close to home doing it, then I did it and now other guys in Columbus are doing it. It’s just good to see that legacy keep going on.”
Wheeler also becomes the sixth player from Columbus to play in at least two Super Bowls, and a victory would mean something special. Four of those five players lost in all of their appearances, with Hurston being the lone player to prevail after losing in his first showing.
Overall, these 13 players have gone 2-18 in the Super Bowl, with the last win being Sistrunk in 1977. The sense of bad luck was something Hood said he genuinely hopes changes come game time this go around.
“I’m hoping (Wheeler) can break the streak,” Hood said. “I don’t know if Columbus has a curse; I don’t know what it is.”
Here’s a look at the 13 NFL players who reached the Super Bowl and happened to call Columbus home:
Chuck Hurston, defensive end, Kansas City Chiefs
Jordan High School
Super Bowl I, IV (1966, 1969 seasons)
Hurston started at defensive end for the Chiefs in the first AFL-NFL championship game. The Chiefs fell to the Green Bay Packers 35-10 in that matchup, but Hurston’s side had much better luck three years later. Kansas City dominated the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in Super Bowl IV, giving the former Auburn standout a championship.
The Super Bowl IV team was full of great players,” Hurston told John Dooley for a story in the Auburn football media guide. “There were eight players from that team that are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame along with Coach Hank Stram and owner Lamar Hunt.”
Hurston, who worked for the Haggar Company for 36 years after his playing days and retired as vice president of sales, passed away in 2015 after battling cancer. He was 72 years old.
Otis Sistrunk, defensive end, Oakland Raiders
Spencer High School
Super Bowl XI (1976 season)
Sistrunk was a menace to Minnesota quarterback Fran Tarkenton in their 1977 showdown. Starting at defensive tackle, the 6-foot-4, 265-pound Sistrunk brought down Tarkenton twice in the Raiders’ 32-14 beatdown of the Vikings.
Sistrunk retired from the NFL after the 1978 season. He dabbled in pro wrestling after his career and later spent 12 years working at Ft. Benning. He then worked for 21 years at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington before retiring in 2014.
Robert Steele, wide receiver, Dallas Cowboys
Hardaway High School
Super Bowl XIII (1978 season)
Steele appeared with the Cowboys in the franchise’s third Super Bowl appearance. Steele, then a rookie from North Alabama, played on Dallas’ special-teams unit in its 35-31 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I was not the No. 1 player on the team,” Steele said in a speech at Hardaway last year. “I was probably not the 21st player on the team. I wasn’t the best player on my college team. When I got to the Cowboys, I was not No. 1 on the depth chart.”
Steele moved on from professional football after the 1979 season. He wrote an autobiography in 2011 and is now the senior vice president of sales at Healthcare Insight, Inc., a healthcare technology company in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Oliver Davis, cornerback, Cincinnati Bengals
Mt. Olive High School
Super Bowl XVI (1981 season)
Davis, who played in the NFL for six seasons, was a reserve for Cincinnati in the team’s first trip to the Super Bowl in franchise history. The Bengals came up short against Joe Montana and the 49ers, losing 26-21.
Davis presented a golden ball to Mt. Olive Intermediate School in January 2016 for his participation in the Super Bowl.
“It does feel really good and it brings back a lot of memories,” Davis told the Ledger-Enquirer. “But I’m not the one who is going to be honored. I’m honoring the school. We want to share with all the kids and let them know that if they do the right thing in school, do their classwork and work hard, dreams do come true.”
Jeremiah Castille, cornerback, Denver Broncos
Central High School
Super Bowl XXII (1987 season)
Castille helped Denver reached the Super Bowl by forcing “The Fumble” against the Browns in the AFC Championship Game. He then provided one the lone highlights for Denver in the Super Bowl XXII, grabbing an interception in the 42-10 loss to the Washington Redskins.
“You don’t get to play in a Super Bowl if you aren’t disciplined,” Castille told Central students in January 2016. “You can’t win a championship if you’re not disciplined.”
Castille has been the chaplain for the University of Alabama football team since 2001. Two of his sons, Tim and Simeon, followed in their father’s footsteps and played professional football.
Daryll “DJ” Jones, defensive back, Denver Broncos
Carver High School
Super Bowl XXII (1987 season)
Jones spent his third and final season in the NFL with the Broncos but was on injured reserve with a dislocated shoulder during the team’s showdown with the Washington Redskins. Despite his limited status, Jones still traveled and worked out with the team leading up to the Super Bowl. He was also on the sideline to watch as the Broncos fell to the Redskins 42-10.
“We jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, and I was thinking I’m going to be part of a Super Bowl champion,” Jones said. “Then Doug Williams had a heroic day. He had a couple of quarters there that were unbelievable. Doug was one of my favorite players. I wore No. 17 in high school and in college, and he had a little something to do with that.”
Today, Jones and fellow Georgia graduate Dale Williams run Sports Visions, a marketing and events company in Columbus.
“We’re living the dream,” Jones said. “I get paid to talk about the things we did growing up and playing sports. It’s an honor and a privilege.”
Nate Odomes, cornerback, Buffalo Bills
Carver High School
Super Bowl XXV, XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII (1990-93 seasons)
Odomes started at cornerback in Buffalo’s four consecutive Super Bowl appearances. In the Bills’ last Super Bowl, a 30-13 loss to the Cowboys, Odomes picked off Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman in the second quarter and reeled off a 41-yard return.
Odomes’ Bills went 0-for-4 in the Super Bowl, but the 51-year-old harbors no bitterness about those outcomes.
“Naturally, as a player, you want to win all the time,” Odomes said. “The team I played on was fortunate to win a lot of games. We as a team had a lot of firepower; it was just a situation where it never happened for us.”
Odomes now spends most of his time between Columbus and Atlanta. He and his wife, Cynthia, have two sons and three grandchildren, giving Odomes plenty of opportunities to stay busy.
“For the last 20 years, I’ve just been trying to catch up and be a positive influence on not only my family, but my community and everyone else,” Odomes said.
Randy Fuller, cornerback, Pittsburgh Steelers/Atlanta Falcons
Spencer High School
Super Bowl XXX, XXXIII (1995, 1998 seasons)
Fuller got his first taste of the Super Bowl with the Steelers, the team Fuller said was his favorite growing up. The Steelers ultimately fell to the Cowboys 27-17. Fuller returned to the big stage in January 1999 with the Atlanta Falcons. Again, his side came out with a loss, as the Broncos defeated the Falcons 34-19.
“You have to play as though you may not ever make it to the Super Bowl again, because it’s so hard to get there,” Fuller said. “Win, lose or draw, if you know you gave it your very best, then that’s all you can ask for. At the end of the day, I played in two Super Bowls, and I came up short in both Super Bowls. I am able to look back at it and look at everything else we accomplished.”
Fuller is now involved in marking for Timberline Knolls, a residential treatment facility in Lemont, Ill. He also dabbles in broadcasting and plans to provide pre-game and post-game reaction of Super Bowl LI for Fox Sports Latin America.
“I’ve been involved in the healthcare field,” Fuller said. “I love what I do. It’s a very rewarding job, knowing I can go out and try to help save a life every day.”
Brentson Buckner, defensive lineman, Pittsburgh Steelers/Carolina Panthers
Carver High School
Super Bowl XXX, XXXVIII (1995, 2003 seasons)
Buckner started as defensive end for the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX in his second season in the NFL. Dallas prevailed against Pittsburgh 27-17. He returned to the Super Bowl in his 10th season in the league and started at defensive tackle for the Panthers. He recorded 1.5 tackles in the Panthers’ 32-29 loss to the New England Patriots.
“I’ve been a professional in everything I’ve done, against all the odds,” Buckner told Carver students last February. “ ‘You won’t go to college,’ they said. I became an All-American, graduated with a degree in English. ‘Well, you won’t get drafted.’ I got drafted in the second round. ‘Well, you won’t stay long.’ I played for 12 years. ‘You won’t go to the Super Bowl.’ I went to two.
“I can tell you one thing: You can dream all you want to, but a dream without a plan is nothing but a wish.”
Buckner transitioned into coaching after his playing career came to a close. He just finished his fourth season as the defensive line coach of the Arizona Cardinals.
Gary Downs, running back, Atlanta Falcons
Spencer High School
Super Bowl XXXIII (1998 season)
Downs and former Spencer teammate Randy Fuller were part of Atlanta’s run to the Super Bowl in 1999. Downs played a role in the Falcons special teams and tackled Denver’s Vaughn Hebron on the opening kickoff of the second half.
“I look back, and I look at my trophy case,” Downs said. “I have a lot of things in my trophy case, and I’ve got memorabilia from that game. That game and that season bring back a ton of memories. Other than my rookie year, that’s the year I remember more than anything.”
Downs turned to coaching after his playing career ended. He is now the running backs coach at East Tennessee State.
Rod Hood, cornerback, Philadelphia Eagles/Arizona Cardinals
Carver High School
Super Bowl XXXIX, XLIII (2004, 2008 seasons)
Hood caught the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XXXIX, returning the ball for 32-yard gain. He also registered three tackles in Philadelphia’s 24-21 loss to the Patriots. Four years later, Hood managed five tackles in the Cardinals’ 27-23 loss to the Steelers.
The magnitude of that return still sticks out to Hood today.
“The ball was kicked to me, and there were so many lights flashing in the stadium that I didn’t even know if it was the football,” Hood said. “With this little dot coming to me, I said, ‘I hope it’s the ball, because that’s what I’m catching.’ It was crazy, but I had a whole lot of fun.”
Hood has spent part of his life after football doing internships with the Cardinals. He also runs his own consulting company, Romans 12, with clients such as Cardinals defensive back Patrick Peterson. Hood also does some defensive back training for current NFL players.
Mack Strong, fullback, Seattle Seahawks
Brookstone School
Super Bowl XL (2005 season)
Strong reached the Super Bowl in his 13th season in the NFL. He took two carries for 7 yards and made a pair of receptions for 15 yards in his lone Super Bowl appearance. The Seahawks lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-10.
“I was just trying to tell myself and my teammates to capture this moment that we have,” Strong said. “I had this sinking feeling that it was slipping away, because it’s hard to get to a Super Bowl. We came up short, but just the journey to get there is something that will stick with me for the rest of my life.”
Strong remains busy in his post-playing days. He is a consultant with the NFL Legends Community and spends time reaching out to retired players to make sure they have what they need to succeed away from the football field. He and his wife, Zoe, also run the Mack Strong Team-Works Foundation, a youth development program in Washington.
The couple live in Pullman, Wash., where Zoe is a professor at Washington State. They have two sons: Isaiah, 15, and Evan, 12.
“I’m enjoying my life and am trying to make a difference in the community,” Strong said.
Philip Wheeler, linebacker, Indianapolis Colts/Atlanta Falcons
Shaw High School
Super Bowl XLIV, LI (2009, 2016 seasons)
Wheeler was a non-factor in the Colts’ 31-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints. He had no tackles in the defeat, with his only notable play being a late hit out of bounds on Saints running back Reggie Bush in the second quarter of action.
Wheeler looks to improve his Super Bowl record on Sunday
This story was originally published February 4, 2017 at 3:27 PM with the headline "Columbus boasts a Super Bowl roster of its own."