Former Tulane Green Wave Football Star Reflects on Super Bowl in Hometown

One former Tulane Green Wave football star has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be in the Super Bowl in his hometown.

Aug 24, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Parry Nickerson (38) walks off the field after the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lincoln Financial Field. | Caean Couto-Imagn Images

Parry Nickerson grew up in New Orleans. So, he grew up around the Super Bowl.

In his dreams, he surely thought about what it would be like to participate in a Super Bowl. He may have even dreamed about it happening in his hometown.

Well, sometimes dreams do come true.

Nickerson may only be on the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad, but he is a member of the team and that means he is in New Orleans all week for Super Bowl LIX, which will be played on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs at Caesars Superdome.

Life doesn’t get much more full-circle than this week for the 30-year-old. He was born in the Big East. He played his high school football at West Jefferson High School in nearby Harvey. He played his college football at Tulane.

During media festivities at the Superdome, he talked about what this means to him with WWL TV’s Adam Ney.

West Jeff and Tulane alum Parry Nickerson returns home for the Super Bowl. Surreal moment. @SethLewisInc pic.twitter.com/ImUN86BvBz

— Adam Ney (@sayneykid) February 4, 2025

“A lot of guys, they fight to get to this moment, teams play to get to this moment, so to finish the job from day one, you know, all the hard work pays off,” he said. “This is once-in-a-lifetime for a lot of guys. You know, it’s going to be a different team next year, there are going to be a lot of moving parts and different opportunities. So, it’s something to cherish.”

Nickerson has played seven different NFL teams since he started his pro career in 2018. But this is the first stop that has led to a potential championship.

The cornerback joined the Eagles earlier this season as a practice squad signing in October. Philadelphia signed him as a free agent in June and he was cut during the preseason.

Nickerson was a sixth-round pick in 2018 by the New York Jets and he made the team coming out of training camp. He played in all 16 games that season, starting two games. He finished the season with 21 combined tackles, 18 of which were solo, along with a tackle for loss.

Since that season with the Jets, he’s played in regular-season games with four other NFL teams. He’s played in 30 career games with 33 total tackles (28 solo) with one pass defended.

Nickerson overcame a career-threatening knee injury in his freshman year at Tulane to become a mainstay of the Green Wave defense. After coming back from the injury, he started 46 of his next 48 games, during which he intercepted 16 passes and deflected 31 more passes.

In his senior season in 2017, he was a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist who finished the season with 55 total tackles, two tackles for loss, six interceptions, and eight pass deflections as he earned all-Conference honors.