The Super Bowl prop bet odds are out, and the biggest favorite to score a touchdown in the game is Kenneth Walker III. The Seahawks running back turned in the second 1,000 yard season of his career and has taken on a bigger role in the postseason after lead back Zach Charbonnet went down with a season-ending injury.
The team roster lists Walker’s alma mater as Michigan State, but area fans will remember that he began his college career rushing for 1100 yards and 17 touchdowns in two seasons at Wake Forest.
While former Tar Heel Drake Maye and former Panther Sam Darnold are getting most of the headlines leading into the game, they are far from the only North Carolina connections to the big game. Here’s a look at who else has passed through our state on the way to the Super Bowl.
The Patriots:
Maye is from the Charlotte area and played for Myers Park before heading to UNC. Receiver Mack Hollins is also a former Tar Heel, as is practice squad linebacker Amari Gainer.
Center Garrett Bradbury and defensive lineman Cory Durden both played for NC State.
Linebacker Harold Landry III is from Spring Lake and played for Pine Forest High School. Defensive lineman Jared Wilson is from Winston-Salem and West Forsyth High.
Linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson signed as a free agent with the Carolina Panthers prior to the 2024 season, but the team cut him late in training camp.
The Seahawks:
Walker played two seasons at Wake Forest. Darnold started 17 games for the Panthers over the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Receiver Jake Bobo started his college career at Duke.
Linebacker Drake Thomas is a former NC State Wolfpack player and a native of Wake Forest who played at Heritage High.
Former UNC quarterback and linebacker Chazz Surratt is on the Seahawks’ injured reserve.
Wide receiver Dareke Young is from Raleigh and played at Lenoir Rhyne after Middle Creek High.
Veteran defensive tackle Jarren Reed is a native of Goldsboro.
Cornerback Shaquill Griffin played three games with the Panthers in 2023.
From North Carolina colleges to the coaching staffs:
Former East Carolina nose guard Terrell Williams is now the defensive coordinator for the Patriots. His second coaching job was as defensive line coach for NC A&T from 1999 to 2001.
New England defensive assistant Milton Patterson went to Fayetteville State and served as defensive coordinator there for two seasons.
Patriots’ assistant offensive line coach Robert Kugler was an offensive quality control coach at App State in 2020 and spent the 2022 and 2023 seaons as assistant o-line coach with the Panthers.
New England’s assistant special teams coach Tom Quinn coached linebackers at Davidson in 1991.
Former Shaw quarterback Quinshon Odom is on Seattle’s staff as offensive assistant and quality control for the offensive line.
Seahawks’ receivers coach Frisman Jackson had the same position on the NC State staff in 2013 and 2014 and returned to the state to hold the same position with the Panthers from 2020 to 2021.
Seattle defensive line coach Justin Hinds was Western Carolina’s defensive coordinator in 2021.
Seahawks’ assistant special teams coach Devin Fitzsimmons began his coaching career at Shaw in 2005. He was a special teams assistant for the Panthers in 2023.
From Panthers to the Super Bowl:
Josh Bynes was a veteran linebacker signed by the Panthers in training camp 2021. He didn’t survive final cuts. Now he’s the defensive assistant/linebackers coach with the Seahawks.
The Seahawks’ pass game coordinator Jake Peetz spent two seasons with the Panthers, coaching running backs in 2019 and quarterbacks in 2020.
Seattle’s VP of Player Personnel, Trent Kirchner, spent eight seasons in Carolina as a pro scout and was with the team when they played in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
The Patriots VP of Player Personnel also has Panthers experience. Ryan Cowden began as a scouting assistant for Carolina in 2000 and stayed in the team’s scouting department through the 2015 season. He spent seven years as an area scout, five as a national scout, two as a senior college scout and two as assistant director of college scouting.
Two former Panthers offensive coordinators are on the New England coaching staff. Ben McAdoo held the job in 2022—head coach Matt Rhule’s last season. He’s now a senior defensive assistant for the Patriots.
Thomas Brown held the job under Frank Reich in 2023. It was his first time as coordinator, and Reich famously refused to let him call plays early in the season, choosing to do it himself. The team got off to an 0-6 start before Reich turned over the reins to him.
