Georgia Southern alum Jerick McKinnon will make his third trip to the Super Bowl when the Kansas City Chiefs meet the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas on Feb. 11. For McKinnon, it will be his third trip to the big game, his second with the Chiefs. Ironically, his other trip came when he was with the 49ers when they played the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV.
McKinnon is currently on the injured reserve, but is eligible to be activated at any time. It is unlikely that would happen, though, as he underwent a procedure on Jan. 2 to repair a core muscle injury and a fractured pelvis. He played in 12 games for the Chiefs this season, rushing for 60 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. He also caught 25 passes for 192 yards and four touchdowns.
McKinnon starred during the Chiefs' Super Bowl run last season, rushing for 291 yards and a touchdown and caught 25 passes for 192 yards and 10 touchdowns. During the postseason, McKinnon rushed 19 times for 60 yards, including four carries for 34 yards in the Super Bowl win over Philadelphia. he also had a crucial play at the end of the game, sliding to run clockand set up the game-winning kick.
GSEagles.com got a chance to catch up with McKinnon before last year's Super Bowl and you can read that story here.
McKinnon, who hails from Marietta, Georgia, was a two-time, first-team All-American for Georgia Southern and had a stellar career in Statesboro. He finished his career third on Georgia Southern's all-time rushing list with 3,899 yards and 42 touchdowns, finishing behind only Adrian Peterson (6,559 yards) and Jermaine Austin (5,411 yards). He also caught 10 passes for 165 yards and a score and threw for 929 yards and 12 touchdowns. His most memorable performance remains leading the Eagles to a win in The Swamp as Georgia Southern beat Florida 26-20 behind McKinnon's 125 yards on the ground and the memorable touchdown run to give the Eagles the lead with 2:57 left.
McKinnon was selected in the third round by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2014 NFL Draft and played in Minnesota for four seasons. After the 2017 season, he signed a four-year, $30 million contract with the San Francisco 49ers. He signed with Kansas City in 2021 and is eligible for free agency this off-season.
Here is a list of all of the Eagles to go to the Super Bowl:
- Super Bowl XXVI (26): Fred Stokes, de, Washington Redskins* †
- Super Bowl XXXIX (39): Earthwind Moreland, cb, New England Patriots*
- Super Bowl XLI (41): Adrian Peterson, rb, Chicago Bears
- Super Bowl LIV (54): Matt Breida, rb, San Francisco 49ers AND Jerick McKinnon, rb, San Francisco 49ers (IR)
- Super Bowl LVII (57): Jerick McKinnon, rb, Kansas City Chiefs*
- Super Bowl LVIII (58): Jerick McKinnon, rb, Kansas City Chiefs (currently on IR)
* - Super Bowl Champion
† - starter in the Super Bowl