The Land of Lincoln will be well represented in Super Bowl LIV as six players will take part in the game on Sunday. Let’s take a look back at how those players made a name for themselves in Illinois.
Kansas City Chiefs
OL Nick Allgretti, Lincoln-Way East (Illinois): Allgretti was a seventh-round selection of the Chiefs in the 2019 NFL Draft and has appeared in seven games this year as a rookie. He was a three-star offensive center by Rivals.com in the Class of 2014 and was a three-year varsity starter for the Griffins and head coach Rob Zvonar. He made headlines as an All-State selection in his junior and senior season.
Allegretti signed with Illinois over offers from Cincinnati, Northern Illinois, Toledo and Western Michigan. He also had strong interest from Indiana, Purdue, Nebraska, Boston College and Duke.
LB Ben Niemann, Sycamore (Iowa): Niemann signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and made the 53-man roster coming out of training camp. He was a two-star athlete by Rivals.com in the Class of 2014 and was also an All-State linebacker for Sycamore in his junior and senior season for head coach Joe Ryan. He signed with Iowa over offers from Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan and Illinois State.
San Francisco 49ers
QB Jimmy Garoppolo, Rolling Meadows (Eastern Illinois): Garoppolo was a second-round selection of the New England Patriots in the 2014 NFL Draft. He was traded to the 49ers in October 2017. Garoppolo was a two-star quarterback by Rivals.com in the Class of 2010 and was a back-to-back Mid-Suburban all-conference and all-area selection. He signed with Eastern Illinois after considering offers from Illinois State and Montana State while also drawing recruiting interest from the likes of Purdue and Northern Illinois.
RB Tevin Coleman, Oak Forest (Indiana): Coleman was a third-round selection of the Atlanta Falcons at the 2015 NFL Draft. He played for the Falcons for four seasons before signing a two-year contract with the 49ers last March. Coleman was a three-star running back by Rivals.com in the Class of 2012 and was an All-State selection in his senior season for the Bengals and head coach Brian McDonough.
Coleman was also played receiver, quarterback, defensive back, and returned kicks and punts. He signed with Indiana after considering offers from Michigan State, Illinois, Iowa, Purdue, Georgia Tech, Minnesota, West Virginia, Syracuse, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Toledo and Western Michigan.
OL Laken Tomlinson, Lane Tech (Duke): Tomlinson, a first-round pick of the Detroit Lions in the 2015 NFL Draft, was traded to the 49ers in 2017 and has been a starter in the Bay Area ever since. Tomlinson was a three-star offensive guard by Rivals.com in the Class of 2010 and was an All-State selection in his senior season at Lane Tech.
Tomlinson signed with Duke after considering several Power 5 offers from Ohio State, Stanford, Northwestern and Tennessee. Tomlinson was a high-level academic student at Lane and stressed the overall importance of academics in his recruiting process. It was a key priority in deciding to play for the Blue Devils.
TE Daniel Helm, Glenwood (Duke): Helm was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Chargers and was later picked up off waivers by the 49ers. He was a four-star tight end by Rivals.com in the Class of 2014 and was an All-State choice in his senior year for the Titans and then-head coach Dan Rourke.
Helm originally signed with Tennessee out of high school but transferred to Duke after his freshman year and finished his college career with the Blue Devils.