Former Bulls tight end looks to become 11th USF Super Bowl champion Sunday when his Bengals take on the Rams in Super Bowl LVI
TAMPA, FEB. 11, 2022 – BayMade tight end Mitchell Wilcox (Tarpon Springs), a three-time all-conference selection during his USF career (2016-19), will achieve a dream when his Cincinnati Bengals face the Los Angeles Rams in Sunday night’s Super Bowl LVI at Southern California’s SoFi Stadium.
Wilcox, a second-year NFL player, went to the Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2020. He was a practice-squad player as a rookie, but made the Bengals’ 53-man roster out of training camp this season.
As a special-teams player and a reserve tight end (three receptions for 16 yards) appearing in 15 games in the 2021 regular season, Wilcox has developed into a valuable performer – playing 18 offensive snaps in the AFC Championship game – while continuing the Super Bowl legacy for USF’s football program.
For the ninth time in the last 11 Super Bowls, a USF player is a member of team playing in the NFL’s Big Game. During that span, among state of Florida programs, only the Florida Gators (11) have more representation. The Bulls have had 14 players on Super Bowl teams, making 18 total appearances and 10 becoming Super Bowl champions, including one two-time champion. Impressive numbers, considering the Bulls just completed their 25th season.
Last season’s Super Bowl was a special treat. Former USF players Jason Pierre-Paul (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Austin Reiter (Kansas City Chiefs) were on opposing sides at Raymond James Stadium, the home field where they competed for the USF Bulls. With the Bucs victory, Pierre-Paul, a three-time Pro Bowler, claimed his second Super Bowl victory after gaining one with the New York Giants in 2012. Reiter won his Super Bowl title as the starting center for the Chiefs the previous year.
Wilcox, 25, has primarily worked as a special-teams player for the Bengals. He had 239 special-teams snaps and 84 offensive snaps in the regular season. He saw increased activity during the postseason and showed up big as a running-game blocker, also a role where he flourished at USF.
As one of USF’s top BayMade recruits, Wilcox was an all-state football/basketball player at Tarpon Springs High School. His top Sponger moment was probably making the state Final Four in 2015 with Tarpon Springs, the first time its basketball program advanced that far in 72 years.
At USF, the hometown school where Wilcox said “everything was there to put me on a path to success,’’ he set the program’s career records for receptions (100), receiving yardage (1,326) and touchdowns (11) by a tight end.
Wilcox assumed a greater role with the Bengals this season when tight end C.J. Uzomah suffered a medial-collateral ligament sprain two weeks ago. He won’t participate in a bigger moment than the Super Bowl. Happily, his parents, Chuck and Carole, will be in LA to cheer him on as they were whisked to the West Coast on the Bengals’ charter after also enjoying the AFC Championship game in Kansas City.
BULLS IN THE SUPER BOWL
SEASON PLAYED PLAYER POS TEAM SCORE
2021 LVI Mitchell Wilcox…….. TE….. Cincinnati Bengals
2020 LV Jason Pierre-Paul…. DE….. Tampa Bay Buccaneers W, 31-9
2020 LV Austin Reiter………. OL….. Kansas City Chiefs L, 31-9
2019 LIV Austin Reiter………. OL….. Kansas City Chiefs W, 31-20
2019 LIV Kofi Amichia*………. OL….. San Francisco 49ers L, 31-20
2017 LII Eric Lee……………. DE….. New England Patriots L,41-33
2016 XLX Kayvon Webster….. DB….. Denver Broncos W, 24-10
2015 XLIX B.J. Daniels*………. QB….. Seattle Seahawks L, 28-24
2014 XLVIII Kayvon Webster….. DB….. Denver Broncos L, 43-8
2014 XLVIII B.J. Daniels*………. QB….. Seattle Seahawks W, 43-8
2012 XLVI Jason Pierre-Paul…. DE….. New York Giants W, 21-17
2012 XLVI Jacquian Williams…. LB….. New York Giants W, 21-17
2011 XLV Sampson Genus*…. C……. Green Bay Packers W, 31-25
2008 XLII Kawika Mitchell……. LB….. New York Giants W, 17-14
2005 XXXIX J.R. Reed………….. DB….. Philadelphia Eagles L, 24-21
2003 XXXVII Ryan Benjamin……. LS….. Tampa Bay Buccaneers W, 48-21
2002 XXXVI Kenyatta Jones……. OL….. New England Patriots W, 20-17
2002 XXXVI Scott McCready*….. WR…. New England Patriots W, 20-17
* practice squad
TOTALS: 14 players, 18 total appearances, 10 Super Bowl Champions, 1 two-time Champion
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and celebrated its 25th season (22nd at the FBS level) in 2021. The Bulls have posted 15 winning seasons, earned 15 All-America selections and 31 first-team all-conference selections, and have seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft. USF has made 10 bowl games appearances (going 6-4 in those games) and posted a program-record six straight appearances from 2005-2010. The Bulls most recently made four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18 and posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016 while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 seasons and reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings during the 2007 season.
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– #GoBulls –
