A longtime hotbed for some of the best football talent in the country, South Florida will again be on display Sunday in football’s biggest game being played over 2,700 miles away.
Among all the players for both the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals taking part in Super Bowl LVI will be Plantation native and Rams running back Sony Michel, who is taking part in his second Super Bowl in just his fourth NFL season.
Michel, who shined at American Heritage before an outstanding college career at Georgia, is no stranger to the Super Bowl spotlight. In his rookie season of 2018 with New England, he ran 18 times for 94 yards and a touchdown in the Patriots’ Super Bowl LIII win over his current team, the Rams.
The following season, he became New England’s primary running back before injuries sidelined him for much of the 2020 season. He was traded to the Rams before the start of the 2021 season and filled in as the starter much of the second half of the season to finish with 845 yards and four touchdowns.
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While Michel is one of 15 players for both teams combined from the Sunshine State, he is one of only two natives of Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Michel is joined on the Rams’ roster by wide receiver Brandon Powell, a Deerfield Beach native who played college football at Florida.
Of the 15 players, two have college ties to South Florida after having played for the FAU Owls (Rams RB Buddy Howell and Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson).
Four former Florida Gators will play (Rams wide receivers Van Jefferson and Powell along with Bengals defensive back Vernon Hargreaves and kicker Evan McPherson) while two former FSU Seminoles will play (Rams RB Cam Akers and DB Jalen Ramsey).
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Super Bowl LVI takes place Sunday on NBC with coverage starting at 12 p.m. Click here for more on how to watch.
