Eight former NJCAA players to suit up for Super Bowl LIV

CHARLOTTE, NC. - Seven Kansas City Chiefs and a San Francisco 49ers player will be suiting up for Sunday's Super Bowl LIV in Miami. It's the first Super Bowl appearance for the Chiefs since the fourth edition of the NFL championship in 1970. The 49ers are back for the first time since Super Bowl XLVII in 2013, but looking for their first victory since 1995.

A 2017 Second Team NJCAA All-American, Darwin Thompson spent three years in Miami, OK with Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. After sitting out his first season, Thompson rushed for 1,029 yards from just 150 attempts, recording nine touchdowns along the way. Thompson then returned for his second season of eligibility, running for 1,391 yards and eight touchdowns. His 2,420 career yards rank second all-time in NEO's illustrious history.

Thompson then moved on to Utah State for one season – rushing for 1,044 yards and 14 touchdowns while collecting Second Team All-Mountain West honors. Thompson was selected by the Chiefs in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Appearing in 14 games this year for the Chiefs, the rookie scored his first NFL touchdown in a Week 13 victory against Oakland.

Before racking up nearly 1,500 yards of rushing with Oklahoma in the Sooners' 2012 and 2013 seasons, Damien Williams was tearing up the field for Arizona Western. The standout recorded 723 yards and 10 touchdowns off of 95 carries his freshman year before really lighting up the stat sheet his sophomore year. In his second year in Yuma, Williams compiled an NJCAA-best 1,931 yards and 26 rushing touchdowns to cap off his NJCAA career.

In Norman, Williams compiled 1,500 yards rushing and 19 total touchdowns for the Sooners. Despite more than 4,000 yards rushing over his four collegiate seasons, Williams went undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft. He quickly signed with the Miami Dolphins, where the San Diego native would spend the next four seasons. Listed as a running back, Williams has been a master of many trades in his time in the NFL: compiling more than 1,000 yards rushing, 1,000 yards receiving, and nearly 600 yards in kick return yards. Additionally, Williams has also recorded 22 touchdowns in his time in the NFL.

Tyreek Hill was a two-sport athlete while at Garden City. While also competing in track & field, Hill also was a dual-threat on the football field. His final year with the Broncbusters, Hill recorded 638 rushing and 557 receiving yards. Hill then finished his collegiate career at West Alabama, where he was also used as a dual-threat running back. Hill finished his time with the Tigers by recording a combined 681 yards rushing and receiving in addition to two punt return and two kick return touchdowns.

Hill was then taken by the Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. The Kansas City Chiefs have nearly exclusively used Hill in their receiving corps. On December 22, 2019, Hill became the fastest player in Chiefs history to 4,000 career receiving yards. 

For the second straight season, Butler will have a former player in the Super Bowl. Byron Pringle led the Grizzlies in receiving touchdowns in 2015, hauling in a total of nine scores from 28 receptions for 432 yards. Pringle recorded 631 yards his first season with Kansas State, but saw limited playing time his final year in Manhattan.

Signing with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent, Pringle spent his first pro season in 2018 on the injury reserve. In 2019, Pringle was repositioned between the 53-man roster and practice squad several times before securing his regular spot with a breakout Week 5 performance where the Tampa native recorded 103 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Mike Pennel played junior college football at Scottsdale. While with the Artichokes, Pennel recorded 71 total tackles, including 23 tackles for loss. Pennel also forced three fumbles in 18 games played. Finishing off his collegiate career at Colorado State-Pueblo.

Pennell signed with the Green Bay after going undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft, spending three seasons with the Packers. Pennel then continued his career with the New York Jets for two seasons before making the move to Kansas City. His professional career totals amount to 126 combined tackles in 77 appearances. 

Former Jones player Damien Wilson collected a number of accolades in his time with the Mississippi school. In 2012, Wilson recorded 122 total tackles, leading the MACJC and fourth-best in the NJCAA, en route to collecting Region 23 Defensive MVP honors as well as being named an Honorable Mention All-American. Continuing his career at the University of Minnesota, Wilson collected All-Big Ten honors after leading the Golden Gophers in tackles (119) his senior season.

Selected in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft, Wilson continued to improve at the professional level. Wilson has improved his defensive numbers output in each season, his first four with the Dallas Cowboys and most recently with the Chiefs. This season in Kansas City, Wilson has totaled 94 combined tackles through the Chiefs' regular season and two postseason contests.

Charvarius Ward also played junior college football in Mississippi. Playing for Hinds in 2014 and 2015, Ward tallied 32 tackles and three interceptions his freshman season. During his sophomore campaign, Ward matched his number of tackles from a year prior before continuing his career at Middle Tennessee State. Ward recorded 74 tackles in his two seasons in Murfreesboro.

After going undrafted in 2018, Ward initially signed with the Dallas Cowboys before being traded to the Chiefs. Following a solid 30-tackle rookie season, Ward started all 16 regular season games for the Chiefs in 2019, recording 74 combined tackles.

A third player with MACJC playing experience, Tarvarius Moore is the lone San Francisco 49ers player suiting up Sunday with an NJCAA background.

Playing for Pearl River in the 2014 and 2015 seasons, Moore accumulated 24 tackles and three interceptions before continuing his career at Southern Mississippi. After limited playing time during his junior year, Moore exploded for a team-best 87 tackles and three interceptions his senior year.

Moore was selected in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, appearing in every game thus far in his two-year professional career.

The two teams that are meeting for Super Bowl LIV feature several other players on injury or futures reserve that have NJCAA backgrounds.

Super Bowl LIV kicks off on Sunday at 6:30 PM ET and will be broadcast on FOX.

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