Julian Edelman capped off Super Bowl LIII with a victory for the New England Patriots and claimed the highest honor awarded to a player during the championship game of the National Football League (NFL).
The former Kent State University quarterback and proud alumnus was named the Most Valuable Player of this year’s Super Bowl, becoming the first Mid-American Conference student-athlete to receive this title. He is the seventh wide receiver to receive the Super Bowl MVP award.
outstanding Performance
During the Patriots 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams, Mr. Edelman had 10 catches for 141 yards, which was more than half of the team’s total receiving yards. Eight of his catches were for first downs, and six of his catches were for 10 yards or more. His performance helped lift the Patriots to its sixth Super Bowl win.
Mr. Edelman currently has 115 career postseason catches for 1,412 yards, ranking second to Pro Football Hall of Famer and Super Bowl XXIII MVP Jerry Rice.
“It’s an honor to be put in the same sentence as Mr. Rice,” Mr. Edelman told Patriots Football Weekly/Patriots.com. “I was just trying to get open and catch the ball.”
Previously, Mr. Edelman has appeared in Super Bowl XLVI against the New York Giants, Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle Seahawks and Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons. He was injured last year and was unable to take part in the Patriots loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII.
Mr. Edelman was drafted by New England in the seventh round of the NFL Draft in 2009. While he was a quarterback for the Kent State Golden Flashes, he has blossomed as a star wide receiver in the NFL.
Flashes Forever
In addition to his professional football career, Mr. Edelman still maintains his ties with the Kent State.
“I learned so much from my time at Kent,” Mr. Edelman told Kent State in November 2017. “The experiences I had there definitely helped shape me into the player and person I am today. I will always be grateful for the opportunity Coach Martin gave me and for the friends I met there.”
He co-hosted an athletics department auction in 2014, was the Grand Marshal of the Kent State Homecoming Parade in 2015 and was inducted into the Kent State Varsity “K” Athletics Hall of Fame. He also still keeps in close contact with his former teammates and coaches.
“He’s never lost sight of where he came from,” former Kent State coach Doug Martin told KentWired in October 2015. “He’s very appreciative of Kent State for giving him an opportunity. A lot of times, guys lose sight of that. I think that says a lot about who he is.”
Want to know more about Kent State’s Super Bowl MVP?
Read "11 Fast Facts About Julian Edelman" (Kent State Magazine Fall 2015)