It's Vita Vea's Birthday — As If He Didn't Have Enough to do This Weekend
Vita Vea has a lot on his mind these days.
Friday marks his 26th birthday.
He's still recovering some from a broken ankle suffered in October.
Oh yeah, he's got this little football game to play on Sunday in Florida.
Asked about the latter two obligations, the hinge and the Super Bowl, the former University of Washington defensive tackle assures everyone that he is healthy enough to get into a stance for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and go to battle against quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
"I think I'm completely healed, otherwise I don't think I would be playing if I wasn't," Vea said.
Born in on February 5, 1995, in Milipitas, California, Vea is in the peak years of his football career, making a Super Bowl appearance in his pro football hometown of Tampa even more timely and convenient.
At 6-foot-4 and 347 pounds, Vea is considered one of the NFL's more physical and disruptive down linemen, especially when lined up alongside Portland native Ndamakong Suh.
He's strong enough to blow past blockers and athletic enough to score touchdowns, which he did last year with a 1-yard scoring catch in a 35-22 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
On the Bucs, Vea teams with UW teammate Jaydon Mickens, who's the lead kick returner and a back-up wide receiver. Mickens is also 26.
These two played together for one year with the Huskies, sharing in a 7-6 season under coach Chris Petersen, who was in his second year in Seattle.
They understand the history of UW football, with Vea in the video name-dropping defensive tackle Steve Emtman, who did just about everything except play in a Super Bowl.
We'll have more on Vea to kick off Super Bowl Sunday.
Mickens and Vea are the lone Huskies involved in the big game this year, two of 43 UW players who have showed up in uniform for the Super Bowl, some multiple times.
Huskies in the Super Bowl:
*denotes starter
Super Bowl II (1968) — *Ben Davidson, Oakland, DE
Super Bowl III (1969) — *Steve Thompson, New York Jets, DT
Super Bowl XI (1975) — *Ray Mansfield, Pittsburgh Steelers, C
Super Bowl X (1976) — *Ray Mansfield, Pittsburgh Steelers, C
Super Bowl XIII (1979) — *Ray Pinney, Pittsburgh Steelers, OT
Super Bowl XV (1981) — *Dave Browning, Oakland Raiders DT; Dave Pear, Oakland Raiders, DT
Super Bowl XVI (1982) — *Blair Bush, Cincinnati, C
Super Bowl XVII (1983) — Jeff Toews, Miami Dolphins, OG
Super Bowl XVIII (1984) — Tony Caldwell, Los Angeles Raiders, LB
Super Bowl XIX (1985) — *Jeff Toews, Miami Dolphins, OG
Super Bowl XX (1986) — *Rich Camarillo, New England Patriots, P
Super Bowl XXII (1989) — *Joe Kelly, Cincinnati Bengals, LB; Ray Horton, Cincinnati Bengals, CB
Super Bowl XXIV (1990) — *Ron Holmes, Denver Broncos, DT
Super Bowl XXVII (1993) — Ray Horton, Dallas Cowboys, CB; Kevin Gogan, Dallas Cowboys, OG
Super Bowl XXVIII (1994) — *Kevin Gogan, Dallas Cowboys, OG
Super Bowl XXIX (1995) — *Dennis Brown, San Francisco 49ers, DT; Dana Hall, San Francisco 49ers, CB
Super Bowl XXX (1996) — *Mark Bruener, Pittsburgh Steelers, TE; Eric Bjornson, Dallas Cowboys, TE
Super Bowl XXXI (1997) — *Lawyer Milloy, New England Patriots, SS
Super Bowl XXXII (1998) — *Brian Habib, Denver Broncos, OG; Harald Hasselbach, Denver Broncos, DE
Super Bowl XXXIII (1999) — *Chris Chandler, Atlanta Falcons, QB; *Harald Hasselbach, Denver Broncos, DE
Super Bowl XXXIV (2000) — *D'Marco Farr, St. Louis Rams; *Benji Olson, Tennessee Titans, OG
Super Bowl XXXVI (2002) — *Lawyer Milloy, New England Patriots, SS; *Ernie Conwell, St. Louis Rams, TE
Super Bowl XXXVII (2003) — *Lincoln Kennedy, Oakland Raiders, OT; Frank Garcia, Oakland Raiders, OG
Super Bowl XXXVIII (2004) — Damon Huard, New England Patriots, QB; Lester Towns, Carolina Panthers, LB
Super Bowl XXIX (2005) — *Corey Dillon, New England Patriots, RB
Super Bowl XL (2006) — Jeremy Stevens, Seattle Seahawks, TE
Super Bowl XLI (2007) — *Olin Kreutz, Chicago Bears, C; *Tank Johnson, Chicago Bears, DT
Super Bowl XLIV (2010) — Mark Brunell, New Orleans Saints, QB
Super Bowl XLVII (2013) — *Dashon Goldson, San Francisco 49ers, FS
Super Bowl XLVIII (2014) — Jermaine Kearse, Seattle Seahawks, WR
Super Bowl XLIX (2015) — *Jermaine Kearse, Seattle Seahawks, WR
Super Bowl 50 (2016) — *Shaq Thompson, Carolina Panthers, LB
Super Bowl LIII (2019) — Danny Shelton, New England Patriots, DT; *Marcus Peters, Los Angeles Rams, CB; *Cory Littleton, Los Angeles Rams, LB
Super Bowl LV (2021) — Vita Vea, Tampa Bay Bucs, DT; Jaydon Mickens, Tampa Bay Bucs, WR
Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven
Find Husky Maven on Facebook by searching: HuskyMaven/Sports Illustrated