Mayer leads trio with ties to Penn State to Super Bowl XXXVIII

Mayer leads trio with ties to Penn State to Super Bowl XXXVIII

University Park, Pa. -- When the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots clash in Super Bowl XXXVIII on Sunday, Feb. 1, Penn State once again will be represented on the field and on the sidelines.

A trio of competitors with ties to Nittany Lions will be involved in the National Football League's championship game: New England rookie free safety Shawn Mayer, Patriots quarterbacks coach John Hufnagel and Carolina linebackers coach Sam Mills.

For the 34th time in the Super Bowl's 38-game history, at least one Penn State alumnus will be a member of a Super Bowl team. Twenty-six former Nittany Lions have earned a total of 42 Super Bowl rings, including Tampa Bay wide receiver Joe Jurevicius last year.

Mayer was signed by the Patriots as a free agent last spring and did not make New England's opening day roster, but earned a roster spot as the season progressed. He has made 10 tackles this season on defense and special teams, including a season-high four in New England's big win at Indianapolis on Nov. 30.

A fierce competitor, Mayer led the Big Ten in tackles (11.1 tpg) in 2002, becoming the first defensive back to lead Penn State in tackles in consecutive seasons. A team co-captain, his 144 stops in 2002 (85 solo) were 47 more than his team-leading total from 2001 and ranked second all-time for a season at Penn State. A big hitter with a nose for the ball, Mayer also tied for the Big Ten lead with three fumble recoveries and was tied for third in the conference with four interceptions.

The 6-0, 202-pound Mayer was a second-team All-Big Ten pick by both the coaches and the media and a first-team all-conference choice of "The Sporting News" in 2002. He started the last 23 games of his career at safety after missing the 2000 season with a serious knee injury. He led the team in tackles in 15 of those games, including 10 of 13 during the 2002 season. He recorded 241 tackles during the 2001-02 seasons, second highest over consecutive seasons in PSU annals.

Mayer played in the 2003 Hula Bowl and graduated last May.

A standout quarterback with the Nittany Lions from 1970-72, Hufnagel is in his first season coaching the Patriots' quarterbacks. He is in his 30th season of professional football as a player or coach. During the 1971 and 1972 seasons, Hufnagel led Penn State to a 21-3 record, including berths in the Cotton and Sugar Bowls. He earned first team All-America honors in 1972 after throwing for 2,309 yards and 15 touchdowns. Hufnagel played three years with the NFL's Denver Broncos before launching a 12-year career in the Canadian Football League.

Sam Mills is in his first season coaching Carolina's linebackers and his fifth season as a coach with the Panthers. His son, Marcus, will be a redshirt junior cornerback for the Nittany Lions in the fall. The elder Mills played 12 seasons in the NFL, earning five Pro Bowl selections.

Penn State was seventh nationally with 32 of Coach Joe Paterno's former players on NFL rosters during the 2003 season.