Inside The Huskies

4 Former Huskies Earn Trip to the Super Bowl

They all were teammates for two seasons at the University of Washington.

Dan Raley

They were University of Washington football teammates who played together for two seasons. They shared in the Peach and Fiesta bowls, with a College Football Playoff berth in that mix.

Greg Gaines, Taylor Rapp, Drew Sample and Coleman Shelton — all third- year NFL players — soon will have the Super Bowl in common, too, though coming at if from different sides.

On Sunday, the four former Huskies earned the right to play in pro football's biggest showcase event, with Gaines, Rapp and Shelton advancing as members of the NFC champion Los Angeles Rams and Sample qualifying for the game as part of the AFC titleist Cincinnati Bengals.

This marks the first Super Bowl appearance for each one-time Husky.

Greg Gaines starts at DT for the Rams.
Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports

The 6-foot-1, 312-pound Gaines is a starting defensive tackle who played a crucial role in the Rams' 20-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. 

Gaines finished with 3 tackles, including a tackle for loss, and 2 pass deflections.

Rapp, normally a starting safety for L.A., was inactive for the NFC championship game, missing his third consecutive outing after suffering a concussion. He might be able to return for the Super Bowl.

Coleman Shelton is the backup center for the Rams.
Coleman Shelton is one of three Rams from the UW heading to the Super Bowl.  :: Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports

The 6-foot-4, 299-pound Shelton, the Rams' backup center, drew a handful of snaps special-teams duty for the Rams.

In Kansas City, Sample shared in the Bengals' 27-24 overtime conquest of the Chiefs.

The 6-foot-4, 258-pound tight end caught a pass for 4 yards, targeted twice by quarterback Joe Burrow. He played both scrimmage and special-teams plays. 

A fifth Husky, quarterback Jake Browning, is a practice-squad player for the Bengals, a third-year pro who has yet to appear in an NFL game. He still shares in the glory. 

They'll all be part of the big game on February 13 back in SoFi Stadium.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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