SUPER BOWL A HOMECOMING FOR ROOKIES BOSA, FENTON
Nick Bosa remembered watching Miami Dolphins games in a suite with his dad, former Dolphins first-round pick John Bosa. One day, an upand-coming Nick told his father, he would make it to the NFL.
Rashad Fenton grew up five blocks from what is
San Francisco’s Nick Bosa and Kansas City’s Rashad Fenton played high school football in South Florida. Now the two rookies will face off in the Super Bowl in their hometown stadium. now called Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. He went to high school 4 miles away, worked the stadium’s concession stands during his freshman and sophomore years while honing his craft as a cornerback at nearby Traz Powell Stadium and had a chance to play on the field during halftime of a Dolphins game with his youth football team.
They made their marks on South Florida’s high school football circuit,
Bosa at Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, Fenton first with Miami Norland and then at Carol City.
On Sunday, these homegrown players close out their rookie NFL seasons at their hometown stadium on the biggest stage of their life.
Bosa’s San Francisco 49ers.
Fenton’s Kansas City
Chiefs. Super Bowl 54 at Hard Rock Stadium.
“It means so much of course to everyone. It’s the Super Bowl. But to me, it means a little extra knowing these are my roots,” Fenton said. “This is where I came from. Now I’m here to prove to everyone else this is the moment.”
“I definitely could have dreamed it,” Bosa added, “but it’s happening and it’s pretty awesome.”
It’s also the latest example of South Florida’s prevalence in the National Football League.
Fenton and Bosa will be the 89th and 90th players to graduate from high school in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach counties to play in a Super Bowl.
Outside of the first four Super Bowls, only two championship matchups — Super Bowl 48 between the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos and Super
Bowl 32 between the Broncos and Green Bay Packers — failed to include a player who played high school ball in one of those three counties.
St. Thomas Aquinas and Carol City each have had an area-high six graduates — Bosa and Fenton respectively included in those total — compete in Super Bowls. Northwestern and Miami Beach are close behind with five, followed by Coral Gables with four.
84 players on Opening Week rosters — just shy of 5 percent — were from Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach.
St. Thomas Aquinas had an NFL-high 13 players on rosters to open the season. Northwestern had five, while Central and Norland each had four.
“There’s just so much talent, so many different bloodlines coming through here,” Fenton said. “A lot of people coming from different backgrounds . ... It’s adding competition to the South Florida pot. It can’t be matched anywhere else.”
‘I’M HOME’
Even as the week has progressed, Fenton is still trying to wrap himself around the moment.
His family is all together in Miami Gardens for the week ahead. About five or six will be at the stadium on Sunday due to his limited ticket allotment.
“I’ve always been a mellow person and kept to myself,” Fenton said. “My mom said to me, ‘It’s time. Let people hear from you.’”
And people have heard from him. His teammates have seen a more exuberant Fenton, a smile plastered on his face since making his way back to South Florida.
He’s made the most of his playing time since the Chiefs drafted him in the sixth round this year.
Even with a loaded secondary that includes Bashaud Breeland, Charvarius Ward, Kendall Fuller and Morris Claiborne at cornerback, Fenton still worked his way onto the field in key situations.
He recorded his first
NFL interception in the Chiefs’ win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Mexico City on Nov. 18.
He sacked Kenny Stills on a trick play in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs.
“We’re going to depend on him as a rookie,” said cornerbacks coach Sam Madison, who also coached Fenton with the 7-on-7 South Florida Express team. “He played phenomenally well for us over the second half of the season, but he’s been doing well on special teams, he’s been doing well on the defensive side. But in his hometown not far from the stadium, it’s really special for him, but just keeping him level and understanding that it’s still just a football game.”
If you ask Deebo Samuel, Fenton’s teammate at South Carolina and a rookie receiver for the 49ers, there’s no need to worry about where Fenton’s focus has been.
Once the Super Bowl match up was finalized, Samuel tried to get in touch with his former collegiate teammate He tried FaceTime. No answer. Then he sent Fenton a message on Instagram.
Fenton’s response? The shush emoji.
“He’s locked in,” Samuel said. “Just knowing the Super Bowl is at home, I would think that’s cool.”
And Fenton is certainly soaking in the moment, even with the biggest game of his career just days away.
“Not nervous at all,” Fenton said. “I’m home.”
Home has been good to him. Fenton, the son of a Bahamian mother and Jamaican father, was born and raised in Miami Gardens. The Dolphins’ stadium — first called Joe Robbie Stadium, known as Pro Player Stadium when Fenton was born and then undergoing seven name changes in the nearly 23 years since — was a constant sight.
“So many name changes,” Fenton said. “I know I lost track.”
He spent his first two seasons of high school at Norland, winning a Class 6A state title in 2011.
His playing time was limited in those years, but moments that stick out the most — and came to the forefront this week as he gets ready for the Super Bowl — was his time working at Hard Rock Stadium while attending Norland.
As Fenton describes it, the football team would help run the concessions stands every weekend after the football team played on Friday night. University of Miami football games. Dolphins games. Soccer matches. They were there making pizzas and hot dogs, pouring drinks, handing out popcorn and pretzels.
He transferred to Carol City for his final two years to get more playing time and thrived in coach Aubrey Hill’s “college structure.” Fenton was a Miami Herald first-team All-Dade selection as a senior after recording five interceptions and returning two kickoffs and a punt for touchdowns.
Fenton played in 48 career games at South Carolina, including 30 starts, and recorded 122 tackles, five interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery with 24 defended passes.
He was South Carolina’s top cover corner as a senior, intercepting three passes and breaking up six more while also playing some at nickel corner and safety when needed.
Now, he’s with the Chiefs.
And now, he’s a win away at his hometown stadium from being a Super Bowl champion as a rookie.
“It’s going to be so surreal,” Fenton said. “It’s a moment for life. I’m going to make sure that moment is like nothing before.”
‘A WHIRLWIND’
Now contrast Fenton’s upbeat personality with Bosa.
The 22-year-old defensive end and second overall pick in the 2019 Draft has remained reserved and quiet in media settings leading up to the Super Bowl.
But don’t confuse that subdued off-the-field approach with lack of effort or talent. His personality shifts quickly once you put him on the field.
“It doesn’t seem like I have that much energy,” Bosa said Wednesday, “but on the field I definitely bring a little more.”
He has the football pedigree. Bosa’s father, John, was the Dolphins’ first round pick in 1987. The Bosas are now the second family to have a father and two sons selected as firstround NFL draft picks, joining Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning in that illustrious group.
He’s the fourth St. Thomas Aquinas alumnus to be a first-round pick, joining his brother Joey (No. 3 overall to the San Diego Chargers in 2016), Phillip Dorsett (No. 29 overall to the Indianapolis Colts in 2015) and Michael Irvin (No. 12 overall to the Dallas Cowboys in 1988).
And he is one game away from finishing a spectacular rookie season that has already included him recording 47 tackles and nine sacks during the regular season and then tacking on three more sacks in the playoffs.
He overcame an ankle and hamstring injury — “stupid, nagging injuries” as Bosa called them — early in the year to turn into one of the top edge rushers in the league and on Thursday earn Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year honors.
“I hadn’t really proven myself yet,” Bosa said, “so I was itching to prove myself.”
Bosa’s enjoying his time back in South Florida as well. He soaking in the humidity just like his days at St. Thomas Aquinas, where he racked up more than 65 tackles for loss and 24 sacks over his final three prep seasons en route to becoming the No. 8 overall prospect in the 2016 recruiting class according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
Bosa was a two-time Miami Herald first-team All-County selection as a sophomore and junior.
“It’s pretty crazy. It’s been a whirlwind, honestly,” Bosa said. “It’s going to be a weird feeling once it’s all over.”
His success translated to his college career at Ohio State, where he was a firstteam All-American and the Big Ten defensive lineman of the year as a sophomore. He played just three games as a junior before declaring for the NFL Draft and shutting himself down to deal with a core muscle injury.
“I would have had to have my head examined given that opportunity to have that No. 2 pick and he was sitting there and not to take him,” 49ers general manager John Lynch said. “There were some other fabulous players, but Nick’s special. He has been since he arrived with us as well.”
Bosa thanks his family for helping him get to this point.
Joey, two years older, taught him how to handle the adjustment to the NFL. John taught him his work ethic.
His favorite quarterback to sack so far this season: Aaron Rodgers (“He has those loose jerseys, so you can just go out and grab them,” Bosa said).
The target this week is Patrick Mahomes, who has been sacked on just 3.4 percent of his dropbacks this season.
Is there going to be a celebration if he sacks Mahomes?
“Nah,” Bosa said. “I’m just going to line up and try to do it again.”
SOUTH FLORIDA’S LEGACY
South Florida players making it to the Super Bowl isn’t a new revelation.
Ted Hendricks, a Hialeah High and University of Miami alumnus, was the first player to graduate from a South Florida high school to earn a Super Bowl ring, doing so as a starting outside linebacker for the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl 5. He won three more titles over his career with victories in Super Bowls 11, 15 and 18 — the last coming a year before the Dolphins’ last Super Bowl run.
Former Patriots defensive lineman Vince Wilfork, out of Lantana Santaluces in Palm Beach County and the University of Miami, is the only other South Florida player outside of Hendricks to compete in four Super Bowls.
Seven other area players have appeared in three: running back James White (St. Thomas Aquinas), cornerback Asante Samuel (Fort Lauderdale Boyd Anderson), wide receiver Michael Irvin (St. Thomas Aquinas), former Dolphins offensive lineman Larry Little (Miami Booker T. Washington), offensive lineman William Roberts (Carol City), linebacker Godfrey Myles (Carol City) and offensive lineman Charles Goodrum (Fort Lauderdale Dillard).
And South Florida’s finest have produced some memorable moments on the NFL’s biggest stage.
Like White catching a Super Bowl-record 14 passes, scoring three of the New England Patriots’ final four touchdowns and converting a two-point attempt in a 34-28 overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51. Miami Central’s Devonta Freeman (121 yards from scrimmage, one touchdown) also had a strong game for the Falcons.
Like Belle Glade native and former Glades Central standout Santonio Holmes’ game-winning, toe-tapping 6-yard touchdown grab for the Pittsburgh Steelers with 35 seconds left in Super Bowl 43 to clinch a 27-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Holmes received Most Valuable Player honors after catching nine passes for 131 yards and that game-winning touchdown.
Like Coral Springs Taravella alum Dan Morgan’s Super Bowl-record 18 tackles in the Carolina Panthers’ 32-29 loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl 38.
Like Miami Beach alumnus Duane Starks’ pick-six in Super Bowl 35 — one of just 14 all time in Super Bowl history — to help the Baltimore Ravens to a 34-7 win over the New York Giants.
Like Dillard alum Percy Howard, whose only catch as an NFL receiver was a 34-yard touchdown for the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 10, an eventual 21-17 loss to the Steelers at the Orange Bowl.
Fenton and Bosa aim to add their names to the group on Sunday in front of their hometown crowd.
“It would be everything to be,” Bosa said. “Obviously we put in all this work for one goal. We’re here now. I’m excited to be here. I love my team, and I’m glad we’re able to do it down here.”
Added Fenton: “I’m still in my dream right now. I haven’t woken up. I probably won’t wake up until after the game.”
Jordan McPherson: 305-376-2129, @J_McPherson1126