Before Super Bowl 58, here are the 4 NFL legends from Austin with championship rings

The Super Bowl is coming up, and while there have been plenty of Longhorns to play in the big game, there haven’t been as many Austinites.

However, a select few made their mark in NFL history. Each of them played a crucial part in winning the ring. There’ll be more in the future, but these four have made all of Austin — not just the University of Texas — proud.

Justin Tucker (Westlake) – Super Bowl 47

The best kicker of all time has a single ring to his name, and he earned it his rookie year after signing with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent.

A Texas alumnus and Austin native, Tucker won Baltimore’s placekicking job over Billy Cundiff after a strong preseason performance. He proceeded to quickly prove why he was a Texas favorite, as he made all of his extra points and 90.9% of his field goals.

In the Super Bowl, Tucker nearly pulled off the first fake field goal attempt in Super Bowl history but fell just one yard short. However, his two field goals were instrumental in the Ravens winning the ring as they defeated the 49ers 34-31.

While with Westlake, Tucker made 30-of-44 FG attempts and 155-of-162 PAT attempts during his career and saw some action at cornerback, wide receiver and safety.

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Even with this list including two potential Hall of Famers, Foles’ run might go down as the most legendary out of the entire list. A 3-star quarterback coming out of Westlake, he was lightly recruited before attending Michigan State and later transferring to Arizona.

Drafted by the Eagles in the 3rd round of the 2012 NFL draft, Foles bounced around the league before landing back in Philadelphia as Carson Wentz’s backup in 2017-18. After Wentz’s injury, Foles kept the ship steady until the playoffs.

There, he led the Eagles on a miracle run that was capped off with a 41-33 win over the Patriots and arguably the best quarterback of all time, Tom Brady. He was named Super Bowl MVP and became the only quarterback to ever catch and throw a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl. The moment Foles called that play was captured on camera and is one of the cooler moments in the game’s history.

At Westlake, Foles threw for 5,658 yards and 56 touchdowns in his two years as a starter, setting records that were held by another quarterback on this list.

Chaparrals dominate this list with Brees being the last and greatest inclusion. One of the best quarterbacks of all time, he won only one ring in his career, earning the Saints their first-ever championship. Some might argue he should’ve had the chance for two, if not for one of the most controversial no-calls in playoff history.

In 2009, Brees faced off with Peyton Manning’s Colts and outdueled that year’s regular season MVP. He completed 32 passes to match the then completion record and collected 288 yards and two touchdowns, earning him Super Bowl MVP.

At Westlake, Brees completed 314 of 490 passes for 5,461 yards with 50 touchdowns. He set school records (until Foles broke them) but was not heavily recruited, eventually committing to Purdue.

The first Super Bowl champion that was an Austin product, linebacker Thomas Henderson was part of a dominant stretch of Dallas teams in the 1970s and made the playoffs five out of the six years he played in the NFL. Nicknamed “Hollywood,” — a name he no longer answers to — he was part of the legendary “Doomsday Defense” that stifled the Broncos 27-10 in Super Bowl 12.

Henderson had three interceptions in the 1977-78 season and had his best playoff game in the NFC Championship, securing another interception vs. the Vikings.

Though he initially played for L.C. Anderson in Austin, Henderson eventually moved to Oklahoma City to be with his grandmother for a more stable environment. He was a walk-on at NAIA Langston University and earned All-American honors before being selected by the Cowboys in the first round of the 1975 NFL draft.

Henderson is now a community philanthropist, dedicated to creating opportunities for children living in East Austin.