Head Coach: Joe Gibbs, SDSU/Washington Redskins. Three Super Bowl titles. 'Nuff said. A nod to two other former Aztecs - the bombastic NFL Hall of Famer John Madden and an honorable mention to John Fox, current coach of the Denver Broncos. He's been to one Super Bowl - so far. A cradle of coaches to be sure.
QB - Kaepernick's performance falls just short, since he didn't win the game. So the nod has to go to former Fresno State Bulldog Trent Dilfer, who won his Super Bowl, ironically, with the Baltimore Ravens in 2000.
RB (2) - Marshall Faulk, SDSU/St. Louis Rams. Headliner in "the Greatest Show on Turf" and maybe the best dual threat back ever; Jim Kiick, Wyoming/Miami Dolphins key part of unbeaten Super Bowl champs in 1972.
WR (3) - James Jones, San Jose State/Green Bay Packers. In Super Bowl XLV against Pittsburgh, Jones caught 5 passes for 50 yards in Green Bay's 31-25 triumph. Golden Richards, Hawai'i/Dallas Cowboys. Super Bowl champ known for his long blonde hair and acrobatic catches. Az-Zahir Hakim, a former SDSU Aztec, was also part of the Greatest Show on Turf for the St. Louis Rams Super Bowl champs. SDSU Alums Isaac Curtis and Haven Moses both had great careers, but were not on Super Bowl winning teams.
TE - Jay Novacek, Wyoming & Dallas Cowboy won three Super Bowl rings.
OL (5) - Jesse Sapolu, Hawai'i/SF 49'ers FOUR time Super Bowl champ; Mark Tuinei, Hawai'i/Dallas Cowboys. Two Super Bowl rings; Adrian Klemm, Hawai'i/New England Patriots. Three-time Super Bowl champ, Barry Sims, Utah State/Oakland played in the 2003 Super Bowl and Logan Mankins, Fresno State/New England. Five time Pro Bowler has played in a pair of Super Bowls, so far...
K - Jason Elam, Hawai'i/Denver Broncos. Two-time Super Bowl champ and record holder for longest FG in NFL history (tied with Tom Dempsey and Sebastian Janikowski at 63 yards.)
P - Mike Saxon, SDSU/Dallas Cowboys was part of the Cowboys dynasty in the early 1990's. He punted for the 1993 champs.
DE (3) - Fred Dwyer, San Diego State/Los Angeles Rams had a great football AND TV career, playing in the 1979 Super Bowl; Clark Haggans, CSU/Pittsburgh and Arizona. He and Rams alum Joey Porter teamed up again to win a Super Bowl in Pittsburgh, and he played in another with Cardinals. Don't forget Utah State product Lionel Aldridge, a Utah State grad and member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. He played for two Super Bowl winning Packers teams.
DT (2) - Kimo von Oelhoffen, Boise State/Pittsburgh. He won a Super Bowl ring in 2005 in his final season as a member of the Steelers. A special nod to Chad Hennings, AFA/Dallas Cowboys. Not many Academy players are even allowed to play pro football, much less get the chance to play in THREE Super Bowl victories.
LB (3) - Brian Urlacher, New Mexico/Chicago Bears. Also a standout in SB XLI, but on the losing side; Robin Cole, New Mexico/Pittsburgh Steelers. Pro Bowler and twice Super Bowl champion with the Steel Curtain D. He was a stand up end/LB, and Joey Porter, Colorado State/Pittsburgh Steelers, went to multiple Pro Bowls and won a Super Bowl title.
CB (2) - Cornell Green played basketball, not football at Utah State, but went on to play in a pair of Super Bowls for the Dallas Cowboys and was named to their 25th Anniversary team in 1985. Better known for coaching and TV work, SDSU's Herm Edwards was a great corner as well, playing in the 1981 Super Bowl for Philadelphia.
S (2) - Brock Marion, Nevada/Dallas Cowboys was a two-time Super Bowl champ; John Howell, Colorado State/Tampa Bay & Seattle. Super Bowl winner played in two.
Not a bad team to take into battle, huh? Kaepernick is likely to supplant Dilfer before his career is done, and you never know what the future could hold for guys like Ronnie Hillman, D.J. Harper, Ryan Clady or Kellen Moore. Still more reason to stay tuned.
Mick McGrane has covered the Mountain West since the league's inception in 1999. He spent 12 years at the San Diego Union-Tribune, where he served as the beat writer for San Diego State football and men's basketball. He currently represents the MW as a member of the Football Writers Association of America All-America Committee and is a member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. McGrane serves as senior writer to the Mountain West, providing readers with exclusive, in-depth information about the Conference by highlighting its 10 member institutions and contributing feature stories on student-athletes that participate in the league's 18 sponsored sports.
Mark Knudson is a Colorado State journalism school graduate and a 12-year veteran of professional baseball. During his playing career, Mark pitched for three major league teams, including the Colorado Rockies, where he was the first Colorado native to play for the hometown team. He recorded wins over three of the four legendary pitchers who make up the 4,000 strikeout club: Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens. His win over Ryan came for the Milwaukee Brewers on Opening Day in 1991.
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