Former Longhorns DL Alex Okafor Headed to Super Bowl LV
Former Texas Longhorns defensive lineman Alex Okafor is headed for the Super Bowl, thanks to the Kansas City Chiefs’ win over the Buffalo Bills Sunday night in the AFC Championship Game.
Super Bowl LV will be at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 7 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Okafor will make his second straight appearance in the Super Bowl with the Chiefs, as last year he earned his first Super Bowl ring with Kansas City.
Okafor played for former Texas head coach Mack Brown from 2009-12, as he earned two All-Big 12 First Team selections and a First-Team All-America selection from the American Football Coaches Association.
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Drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round in 2013, he spent four seasons with the Cardinals and registered 13.5 sacks before signing with the New Orleans Saints before the 2017 season. With New Orleans, he had a career-high 43 tackles in his first 10 games with the Saints before tearing his Achilles in Week 11 of the season and missing the rest of 2017. He was able to play in 2018 with New Orleans and had four sacks. But the Saints voided the rest of his contract after the 2018 season and released him.
Okafor played on Sunday, something he wasn’t able to do during last year’s title run for Kansas City.
Okafor joined the Chiefs last season and played most of the season before tearing a pectoral muscle in Week 15 and missing the rest of the season.
The Chiefs will be seeking their third Super Bowl title. Along with last year’s title, the Chiefs won Super Bowl IV over the Minnesota Vikings.
Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Longhorns in the Pros for Longhorn Country on FanNation.com and SINow. He also writes for CowboyMaven and DallasBasketball.com, covers the Big 12 for HeartlandCollegeSports.com and is the Editor of the College Football America Yearbook. Have a story idea about a former Longhorn now in the professional ranks? Contact Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.