Trey Hopkins, Joseph Ossai make it 17 consecutive Super Bowls with a Longhorn
Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow has taken the NFL by storm on the Bengals’ run to Super Bowl LVI. But someone has to give him the ball before every play, and that someone has been former Texas Longhorn Trey Hopkins.
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Hopkins, who played for the Longhorns from from 2010-13, started 15 games at center for the AFC champions this season, protecting Burrow and helping clear the path for Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine. He and Joseph Ossai, who had season-ending knee surgery prior to his rookie 2021 season, represent Texas in the upcoming Super Bowl matchup versus the Los Angeles Rams.
Hopkins and Ossai extend the streak of Super Bowls with a Texas Longhorn on the roster of a participating team to 17, dating back to Super Bowl XL when Casey Hampton and the Pittsburgh Steelers prevailed over Marcus Tubbs, D.D. Lewis, and the Seattle Seahawks.
Multiple Longhorns have been on rosters in 13 of those 17 Super Bowls, and 12 of the last 16 world champion rosters have featured players who made their mark in college football at Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium.
Kansas City Chief Alex Okafor represented UT in the two most recent Super Bowls, with Marquise Goodwin also on the San Francisco 49ers roster for Super Bowl LIV. Super Bowl LIII featured a battle of the Browns, when Malcom Brown and the New England Patriots topped Malcolm Brown and the Rams, 13-3.
The first Longhorns to make the Super Bowl were members of the New York Jets for Super Bowl III, when “Broadway” Joe Namath guaranteed victory over the Baltimore Colts. John Elliott, Jim Hudson, Pete Lammons, and George Sauer represented the burnt orange while also representing Gotham.
While Don Talbert represented the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V, and while his brother Diron Talbert played for Washington in Super Bowl VII, neither those two nor Philadelphia’s Jerry Sizemore in Super Bowl XV emerged victorious.
Another Longhorn wouldn’t end the NFL season with a ring until Ricky Churchman and the 49ers topped Cincinnati in Super Bowl XVI, the Bengals last appearance in the final game of the NFL playoffs.
Hopkins hopes he along with Burrow, Mixon, Perine, and Ja’Marr Chase can bring the Queen City its first Super Bowl title, and become the next in a litany of Longhorns to become a world champion.
