Former Longhorns DL Alex Okafor Misses Shot at Second Super Bowl Ring

Tampa Bay dominates Kansas City, keeping Okafor from joining exclusive Longhorns club of multi-Super Bowl winners

Former Texas Longhorns defensive lineman Alex Okafor will have to wait another year to join an exclusive club of Longhorns in the Super Bowl.

The former First-Team All-American was on the field for the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in Super Bowl LV as the Chiefs lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-9. The loss cost Okafor a chance to become the sixth former Longhorns player to win two Super Bowl rings.

Okafor, a two-time All-Big 12 selection as a player, missed last year’s game with an injury, but still claimed a Super Bowl ring when the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers. This time, Okafor was able to play, and he made an impact on the game in the first quarter, helping corral Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady on a sack.

Alex Okafor in on that sack on Tom Brady. #SuperBowl #SuperBowlLV #HookEm @fishsports pic.twitter.com/8mhTuoLzdG

— Matthew Postins (@PostinsPostcard) February 7, 2021

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Okafor joined the Chiefs for the 2019 season, but a pectoral injury in Week 15 put him on injured reserve for the rest of the season and the playoffs. Before that, Okafor spent 2017-18 with the New Orleans Saints, missing part of the 2017 season after tearing his Achilles. He rebounded to register four sacks in 2018.

He broke into the NFL as a fourth-round pick with the Arizona Cardinals in 2013, where he spent four seasons and produced 13.5 sacks.

The other five Longhorns to win two Super Bowl championship were tight end Terry Orr, who won two rings with Washington during the Joe Gibbs heyday in the late 1980s and early 1990s; offensive lineman Dan Neil, who won back-to-back rings with the Denver Broncos in the 1990s; defensive tackle Casey Hampton, who won his two rings with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2000s; cornerback Aaron Ross, who won his two rings with the New York Giants, led by quarterback Eli Manning; and defensive tackle Malcom Brown, who won two rings with the New England Patriots, the latter coming two years ago.

Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Longhorns in the Pros for Longhorn Country on FanNation.com and SINow. He also writes for CowboyMaven and DallasBasketball.com, covers the Big 12 for HeartlandCollegeSports.com and is the Editor of the College Football America Yearbook. Have a story idea about a former Longhorn now in the professional ranks? Contact Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.