Tennessee football: Top 10 former Vols to win Super Bowls the past decade
Deon Grant. 6. player. 31. . Safety. New York Giants
Super Bowl XLVI
New York Giants: 21
New England Patriots: 17
Jerod Mayo was actually the best former Tennessee football player in this Super Bowl. He was actually amazing in the game for the New England Patriots and did everything he possibly could to deliver what would have been Tom Brady’s fourth championship at the time.
But this list is ranking the Super Bowl winning players from UT the past decade. And Deon Grant was the former Vol to win the Super Bowl this year, helping another Manning, Eli Manning, get his second ring.
Playing at safety, Grant was tied for second on the team with six total tackles, five of which were solo. He was stuck guarding the tight ends throughout the game at times, and given his lack of size, he sometimes struggled doing so. As a result, Brady kept targeting him. But he managed to cover the field enough to force Brady to look the other way late, which involved him overthrowing Wes Welker on a play and throwing an interception.
The former interception machine on Rocky Top still stepped up in a big way when he could. This was his second Super Bowl he played in, as his first was with the Carolina Panthers against the Patriots to end the 2003 season. This time, he got his ring, and he had a big role in getting it.