COLOMBIA – Did you hear the one about college rivals who came together to try to win the Super Bowl?
No joke, but Ryan Succop and Bradley Pinion certainly expect a lot of smiles on Sunday night.
“I don’t think that was very important for any of us,” said Pinion. “Ryan just texted me the other day: ‘Hey, don’t forget, we’re going to the Super Bowl’.
“It doesn’t seem real, two good old North Carolina boys on the same team going to the Super Bowl.”
Pinion was a prominent gambler at Clemson from 2012-14. From 2005-08, Succop took turns as a kicker, bettor and pitcher from South Carolina. The two never played against each other, but are in the same state, with 90 minutes difference – Pinion de Concord and Succop de Hickory.
On Sunday, they will fulfill the dream they had as children, which never seemed realistic, but it certainly came. Each wearing the Tampa Bay Buccaneer uniform, Pinion the punter and Succop the kicker, each will do their part to try to deliver a championship.
Even if there is some good-natured shoot beforehand.
“Bradley was wearing a Clemson shirt today,” said Succop. “I said, ‘Bradley, I love you, but that shirt is ugly’.”
“We talked a lot about Clemson and South Carolina,” said Pinion. “But he can’t speak much these days, so it’s fantastic.”
The Tampa Bay opponent on Sunday, defending the Super Bowl champion Kansas City, selected Succop in the 2009 NFL draft, giving him the title of “Mr. Irrelevant ”as the last player elaborated.
Succop still knows Chiefs players and coaches and maintains a home in Kansas City.
Bradley Pinion was a prominent gambler at Clemson from 2012-14. Archive / Richard Shiro / AP
The Chiefs feature Sammy Watkins, Bashaud Breeland and Dorian O’Daniel, all former Pinion teammates Clemson, who said “they won’t hear a word from me until after the game.”
Former USC cornerback Rashad Fenton is also on the Chiefs squad, while USC’s Chris Lammons (Kansas City) and USC’s Kobe Smith (Tampa Bay) are on the teams’ training squads.
Pinion’s older brother attended USC while Succop was playing, so Pinion saw him kick several times at Williams-Brice Stadium. He never thought he would play with him, but when Succop arrived just before the season, he found an almost twin.
The two came together because of their strong faith and, although they cannot go out as much as they would like (COVID-19 limits everything, even team meetings and meals), it was an excellent five months.
“I knew Ryan before, because we trained with some of the same kick coaches. We get along really well, ”said Pinion. “It’s been such a peaceful journey in a crazy year to have a veteran around, take his brain and learn from him, and he does the same thing to me.”
“He’s a very close friend of mine,” said Succop. “We have our USC-Clemson differences, but it’s something we have fun with.”
Pinion left Clemson after his first year and was drafted by San Francisco, going to Tampa Bay before the 2019 season as a free agent. Succop spent five seasons with the Chiefs, then signed with Tennessee in 2014.
He was with the Titans in 2019, but a clumsy knee limited his performance. He spent two seasons in the wounded reserve and was then released, leaving him with an uncertain future.
“I was cut in March and of course everything was closed. But my friend (Atlanta Falcons tight end Luke Stocker) had a gym in his Nashville garage, ”said Succop. “So that our wives could exercise while we took care of the children, then we changed.
“It was a great time for me, because I didn’t feel like I needed to be ready to kick in May or June. But it was difficult in the sense that, for the first time in 12 years, I am not on a team. “
Ryan Succop was a kicker and bettor during his four seasons with the 2005-08 Gamecocks. Archive / Team
But Tampa Bay called shortly before the start of the season and he won a spot on the roster (ironically at the expense of former USC kicker Elliott Fry, who was released to make way for Succop and ended up kicking in a game for Atlanta last season) . He and Pinion reconnected and got along, and were part of a journey that placed them on a victory to lift the Lombardi Trophy.
“It’s been an incredible year. Some of the things I went through last year in Tennessee were very difficult, ”said Succop. “But when you experience adversity, you often grow as a person. I grew in my faith through this. “
There is no way to bet on who will show the trophy first in Columbia or Clemson, as the two face champions in defense and the talent of quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Then again, they are realizing that a big part of the reason they are here is their own QB, a guy named Tom Brady who played in nine Super Bowls and won six.
But if that happens, the two will take off the orange and the garnet and unite again using identical T-shirts.
“Super Bowl Champions” looks good in any color.
Super Bowl Palmetto State draws:
Kansas City Chiefs
Rashad Fenton (South Carolina)
Chris Lammons (training squad, South Carolina)
Sammy Watkins (Clemson)
Dorian O’Daniel (Clemson)
Bashaud Breeland (Clemson)
Antonio Hamilton (SC)
Alex Brown (injured reserve, SC state)
Vice President of Communications Ted Crews (SC State)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Ryan Succop (South Carolina)
Kobe Smith (training squad, South Carolina)
Bradley Pinion (Clemson)
QB coach Clyde Christensen (former South Carolina assistant, Clemson)
Assistant coach Harold Goodwin (Lower Richland High)