Here’s what happened.
On January 25, 1998, Running Back Terrell Lamar Davis earned the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award for Super Bowl XXXII in San Diego, California, his hometown. The Denver Broncos beat the Green Bay Packers 31-24. Davis is a University of Georgia (UGA) alumnus.
Here’s why it matters.
Davis was a redshirt freshman at Long Beach State University. The university eliminated its football program after his sophomore year, so he transferred to UGA. Broncos Head Coach Mike Shanahan picked Davis in the 6th Round of the 1995 NFL Draft. He became the lowest drafted player ever to gain over 1,000 yards rushing in his rookie season.
Davis, whose nickname was “T.D.” (“Touchdown”), also became the first player in Super Bowl history to score 3 touchdowns. Super Bowl XXXII ended losing streaks for the Broncos (4 games) and the AFC (13 games), and prevented the Packers from repeating as NFL champions. The Broncos repeated in 1999, beating the Atlanta Falcons. Super Bowl XXXIII featured an ironic match-up of Shanahan against his Denver coaching predecessor Dan Reeves, who had led the Broncos to three Super Bowl appearances.
Long Beach State coach George Allen died after the end of Davis’s redshirt season. Allen became an NFL legend after taking the Washington Redskins to Super Bowl VII in 1973. As of the 2012 season, Mike Shanahan is the Redskins head coach.
Here’s an interesting fact!
Two other Georgia Bulldog alums have been Super Bowl MVPs: Jake Scott (VII) and Hines Ward (XL).
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