Ex-Cardinals, Sun Devils represented in Super Bowl
While Arizona was far from being anywhere near Super Bowl XLVII, there were players with local ties on both sides of the field in New Orleans.
Both Terrell Suggs and Anquan Boldin of the Baltimore Ravens are familiar names and faces to Arizona sports fans.
Boldin was drafted in 2003 by the Arizona Cardinals, where he would record more than 1,000 yards in five of his seven seasons with the team. In his first Super Bowl appearance in 2009, Boldin caught eight passes for 84 yards. The Cardinals would lose the franchise’s first appearance that year to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Three years after being traded to the Ravens, Boldin made the most of his second Super Bowl opportunity, reeling in six catches for 104 yards and a touchdown.
Boldin was a favorite target of Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco during Baltimore’s march to their second Super Bowl championship. The 32-year-old receiver caught 22 passes for 380 yards and four touchdowns in the playoffs.
Suggs graduated from Chandler’s Hamilton High School in 2000 as an All-American and Gatorade Arizona Player of the Year. He committed to Arizona State, where he earned the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 2003. Suggs was then drafted 10th overall by the Ravens that same year.
The veteran linebacker only recorded two tackles against the 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII, but totaled 21 combined tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble in the Ravens’ Super Bowl run.
Ex-Cardinals Leonard Davis and Clark Haggans played sparingly for the 49ers throughout the season. Davis served as a backup to right guard Alex Boone, while Haggans played behind left outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks. In the Super Bowl, Davis played six snaps on special teams, while Haggans split four plays between defense and special teams as well.
ASU alumnus Kyle Williams did not play in this year’s playoffs for the 49ers. Williams was placed on IR after tearing his ACL against New Orleans in late November.
