Indiana connections to title game
This weekend, San Francisco and Kansas City will battle for it all in Las Vegas. While none of the teams from the Upper Midwest made it to the Big Game this year, there will still be an Indiana flavor.
Between both teams, seven players have spent time in the Hoosier state. Some were only in Indiana for their college years.
Others grew up here.
Three players- two from Kansas City and one from San Francisco- were raised in Indiana. One even counts Northeast Indiana as his home. All three have had unique journeys to get where they are.
Fort Wayne will be represented on Sunday night by Drue Tranquill. The Carroll High School graduate has made an impact in his first season in Kansas City, recording 50 solo tackles, four and a half sacks and two forced fumbles this season.
Tranquill signed with Kansas City this past offseason after starting his professional career in Los Angeles.
To get to this point, Tranquill has had to overcome adversity.
Each of his first two seasons in college at Notre Dame ended with him tearing his ACL. By the end of his career in South Bend, Tranquill was a twotime team captain and finalist for multiple national awards.
He was drafted in the fourth round in 2019.
Like Tranquill, defensive end George Karlaftis plays on the Kansas City defense and played collegiately in Indiana.
The parallels end there.
Karlaftis was born in Athens, Greece. He moved to West Lafayette when he was in the eighth grade and took up football for the first time.
After his high school career at West Lafayette, Karlaftis went on to star at Purdue before turning pro.
Taken by Kansas City late in the first round two seasons ago, Karlaftis will be looking to hoist the trophy for a second time in his career after doing so as a rookie last year.
While originally from Jacksonville, San Francisco linebacker Randy Gregory, grew up in Fishers and graduated from Hamilton Southeastern High School.
After attending junior college, Gregory then finished his college career at Nebraska.
He spent his first few pro seasons with Dallas before a short stint earlier this year in Denver. Gregory has accounted for three and a half sacks this season.
Six players played for Indiana colleges.
Along with Tranquill and Karlaftis, Nic Jones (Kansas City cornerback, Ball State), Cam Jones (Kansas City linebacker, Indiana), Willie Snead IV (San Francisco wide receiver, Ball State) and Aaron Banks (San Francisco offensive lineman, Notre Dame) count Indiana institutions as their alma maters.