Eastern Michigan Athletics
Champion: Pat O'Connor Wins Super Bowl LV with Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2/7/2021 6:17:00 PM | Football, General
O'Connor is the eighth former EMU player to win football's biggest game
TAMPA, Fla. (EMUEagles.com) – Another former Eastern Michigan University football player has reached the pinnacle of the sport tonight, Feb. 7, as Pat O'Connor and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers emerged victorious in Super Bowl LV. The Bucs defeated the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs, 31-9, inside Tampa's Raymond James Stadium.
O'Connor is the 11th former Eastern Michigan University football player to take part in a Super Bowl and with his win, he joins the company of just seven other former Eastern student-athletes that have captured a Super Bowl ring.
A special affair for EMU, the event was the third in which two former players squared off in a Super Bowl, as O'Connor's fellow 2016 graduate, Andrew Wylie, started at right tackle for the Chiefs. Last such occurrence came in 2011 when T.J. Lang's Green Bay Packers got the best of Charlie Batch's Pittsburgh Steelers.
For Eastern Michigan, the victory marks the 13th time that a former Eagle has been crowned a Super Bowl Champion
For O'Connor, the journey to the top of the NFL has been one defined by hard work and resilience.
Selected in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, O'Connor initially inked a four-year deal to play in the Motor City, but was later transitioned to the team's practice squad and was ultimately released in Sept. 2017.
Following his stint with the Lions, O'Connor was signed to the Buccaneers practice squad, and was eventually promoted to Tampa Bay's active roster on November 29, 2017. Back with the practice unit in 2018, he signed a reserve/futures contract with the Bucs in December, 2018. O'Connor was re-promoted to the team's active roster on Sept. 24, 2019, and has remained in that position since. He recorded his first-career sack in Tampa Bay's 2019 Week 14 game against the Minnesota Vikings and former Michigan State QB Kirk Cousins.
"What a special day this is for the entire Eastern Michigan Football family," said Head Coach Chris Creighton. "Pat O'Connor has worked so hard to get to this position, and we could not be prouder of his journey to becoming a champion. He is such a great representative of all that we teach at EMU about hard work and resilience. Pat O'Connor knows what it means to Be Different."
O'Connor, the 28th EMU player to be picked in the draft, was the team leader on a much improved defensive unit for EMU in 2016. In his final season, O'Connor set the EMU sack record since 1998 by getting to the quarterback 20.0 times in his career. In total on the season, the Chicago native sacked the QB a team-high 8.5 times, which was good for 41st in the country and fifth in the Mid-American Conference.
In addition, O'Connor had 42 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 16 QB hurries, and five forced fumbles, and was one of just 10 players in the nation with five-or-more forced fumbles that season. He finished his career as the games played leader, sack leader, QB hurries leader, and forced fumbles leader, while also finishing third on the tackles for loss list with 33.5.
At the conclusion of the 2016 season, O'Connor was recognized for his substantial efforts by being named to the MAC All-Conference First Team, as well as the first team on Phil Steele's Postseason All-MAC list. He also participated in the 2017 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, played in Carson, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 21.
EMU's Super Bowl Champions (13)
Reggie Garrett - Steelers - 1974 (Super Bowl IX)
Reggie Garrett - Steelers - 1974 (Super Bowl X)
John Banaszak - Steelers - 1975 (Super Bowl X)
John Banaszak - Steelers - 1978 (Super Bowl XIII)
Ron Johnson - Steelers - 1978 (Super Bowl XIII)
John Banaszak - Steelers - 1979 (Super Bowl XIV)
Ron Johnson - Steelers - 1979 (Super Bowl XIV)
Lional Dalton - Ravens - 2001 (Super Bowl XXXV)
Charlie Batch - Steelers - 2005 (Super Bowl XL)
Charlie Batch - Steelers - 2008 (Super Bowl XLIII)
TJ Lang - Packers - 2010 (Super Bowl XLV)
Andrew Wylie - Chiefs - 2019 (Super Bowl LIV)
Pat O'Connor – Buccaneers – 2020 (Super Bowl LV)
EMU's Super Bowl Appearances (18)
Dave Boone - Vikings - 1974 (Super Bowl IX)
Reggie Garrett - Steelers - 1974 (Super Bowl IX)
Reggie Garrett - Steelers - 1974 (Super Bowl X)
John Banaszak - Steelers - 1975 (Super Bowl X)
John Banaszak - Steelers - 1978 (Super Bowl XIII)
Ron Johnson - Steelers - 1978 (Super Bowl XIII)
John Banaszak - Steelers - 1979 (Super Bowl XIV)
Ron Johnson - Steelers - 1979 (Super Bowl XIV)
Clarence Chapman - Bengals - 1981 (Super Bowl XVI)
Lional Dalton - Ravens - 2001 (Super Bowl XXXV)
Jason Short - Eagles - 2004 (Super Bowl XXXIX)
Charlie Batch - Steelers - 2005 (Super Bowl XL)
Charlie Batch - Steelers - 2008 (Super Bowl XLIII)
TJ Lang - Packers - 2010 (Super Bowl XLV)
Charlie Batch - Steelers - 2010 (Super Bowl XLV)
Andrew Wylie - Chiefs - 2019 (Super Bowl LIV)
Andrew Wylie – Chiefs – 2020 (Super Bowl LV)
Pat O'Connor - Buccaneers - 2020 (Super Bowl LV)
*Year represents the regular season*
O'Connor is the 11th former Eastern Michigan University football player to take part in a Super Bowl and with his win, he joins the company of just seven other former Eastern student-athletes that have captured a Super Bowl ring.
A special affair for EMU, the event was the third in which two former players squared off in a Super Bowl, as O'Connor's fellow 2016 graduate, Andrew Wylie, started at right tackle for the Chiefs. Last such occurrence came in 2011 when T.J. Lang's Green Bay Packers got the best of Charlie Batch's Pittsburgh Steelers.
For Eastern Michigan, the victory marks the 13th time that a former Eagle has been crowned a Super Bowl Champion
For O'Connor, the journey to the top of the NFL has been one defined by hard work and resilience.
Selected in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, O'Connor initially inked a four-year deal to play in the Motor City, but was later transitioned to the team's practice squad and was ultimately released in Sept. 2017.
Following his stint with the Lions, O'Connor was signed to the Buccaneers practice squad, and was eventually promoted to Tampa Bay's active roster on November 29, 2017. Back with the practice unit in 2018, he signed a reserve/futures contract with the Bucs in December, 2018. O'Connor was re-promoted to the team's active roster on Sept. 24, 2019, and has remained in that position since. He recorded his first-career sack in Tampa Bay's 2019 Week 14 game against the Minnesota Vikings and former Michigan State QB Kirk Cousins.
"What a special day this is for the entire Eastern Michigan Football family," said Head Coach Chris Creighton. "Pat O'Connor has worked so hard to get to this position, and we could not be prouder of his journey to becoming a champion. He is such a great representative of all that we teach at EMU about hard work and resilience. Pat O'Connor knows what it means to Be Different."
O'Connor, the 28th EMU player to be picked in the draft, was the team leader on a much improved defensive unit for EMU in 2016. In his final season, O'Connor set the EMU sack record since 1998 by getting to the quarterback 20.0 times in his career. In total on the season, the Chicago native sacked the QB a team-high 8.5 times, which was good for 41st in the country and fifth in the Mid-American Conference.
In addition, O'Connor had 42 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 16 QB hurries, and five forced fumbles, and was one of just 10 players in the nation with five-or-more forced fumbles that season. He finished his career as the games played leader, sack leader, QB hurries leader, and forced fumbles leader, while also finishing third on the tackles for loss list with 33.5.
At the conclusion of the 2016 season, O'Connor was recognized for his substantial efforts by being named to the MAC All-Conference First Team, as well as the first team on Phil Steele's Postseason All-MAC list. He also participated in the 2017 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, played in Carson, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 21.
EMU's Super Bowl Champions (13)
Reggie Garrett - Steelers - 1974 (Super Bowl IX)
Reggie Garrett - Steelers - 1974 (Super Bowl X)
John Banaszak - Steelers - 1975 (Super Bowl X)
John Banaszak - Steelers - 1978 (Super Bowl XIII)
Ron Johnson - Steelers - 1978 (Super Bowl XIII)
John Banaszak - Steelers - 1979 (Super Bowl XIV)
Ron Johnson - Steelers - 1979 (Super Bowl XIV)
Lional Dalton - Ravens - 2001 (Super Bowl XXXV)
Charlie Batch - Steelers - 2005 (Super Bowl XL)
Charlie Batch - Steelers - 2008 (Super Bowl XLIII)
TJ Lang - Packers - 2010 (Super Bowl XLV)
Andrew Wylie - Chiefs - 2019 (Super Bowl LIV)
Pat O'Connor – Buccaneers – 2020 (Super Bowl LV)
EMU's Super Bowl Appearances (18)
Dave Boone - Vikings - 1974 (Super Bowl IX)
Reggie Garrett - Steelers - 1974 (Super Bowl IX)
Reggie Garrett - Steelers - 1974 (Super Bowl X)
John Banaszak - Steelers - 1975 (Super Bowl X)
John Banaszak - Steelers - 1978 (Super Bowl XIII)
Ron Johnson - Steelers - 1978 (Super Bowl XIII)
John Banaszak - Steelers - 1979 (Super Bowl XIV)
Ron Johnson - Steelers - 1979 (Super Bowl XIV)
Clarence Chapman - Bengals - 1981 (Super Bowl XVI)
Lional Dalton - Ravens - 2001 (Super Bowl XXXV)
Jason Short - Eagles - 2004 (Super Bowl XXXIX)
Charlie Batch - Steelers - 2005 (Super Bowl XL)
Charlie Batch - Steelers - 2008 (Super Bowl XLIII)
TJ Lang - Packers - 2010 (Super Bowl XLV)
Charlie Batch - Steelers - 2010 (Super Bowl XLV)
Andrew Wylie - Chiefs - 2019 (Super Bowl LIV)
Andrew Wylie – Chiefs – 2020 (Super Bowl LV)
Pat O'Connor - Buccaneers - 2020 (Super Bowl LV)
*Year represents the regular season*
Players Mentioned
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