University of Delaware Athletics
Former Delaware Standout Marcus Burley Looking to Lead Seahawks to Super Bowl Win Sunday
1/30/2015 11:46:00 AM | Football
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GLENDALE, Ariz. -- For the third straight year, University of Delaware football will be represented at the Super Bowl.
Marcus Burley, a four-year letterwinner for the Blue Hens and a two-time all-conference selection at cornerback, will be looking to lead Seattle to its second straight championship when the Seahawks 
take on the New England Patriots this Sunday, Feb. 1, in Super Bow XLIX in University of Phoenix Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. (ET) with live television coverage on NBC TV.
Burley is in his first season with the Seahawks and is listed on the depth chart as the team's No. 3 cornerback behind Richard Sherman and Jeremy Lane.
Burley played in 13 regular season games for Seattle this season and recorded 35 tackles and one interception but was not activated for playoff wins over Carolina and Green Bay.
The Seahawks announced Sunday prior to the game that Burley would not be active for the Super Bowl.
A native of Richmond, Va., Burley was a standout cornerback for Delaware in 2009-12 and earned All-Colonial Athletic Association honors in 2011. He recorded 169 tackles, four interceptions, 18 pass breakups, and two fumble recoveries for his career.
He went undrafted in 2013 but signed a free agent contract with Jacksonville during the 2013 season and was activated for one game but did not play. He signed with the Indianapolis Colts during the summer but was traded to Seattle before the 2014 season began. He also had tryouts with Philadelphia and St. Louis before signing with the Colts.
Burley will be the eighth former Blue Hen to be a member of a Super Bowl team, joining defensive back Ivory Sully, quarterback Rich Gannon, wide receiver Jamin Elliott, tight end Ben Patrick, quarterback Joe Flacco, center Gino Gradkowski, and safety Mike Adams. Flacco was named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player in 2013 when he threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns and led the Ravens to a 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in New Orleans. Gradkowski saw action on special teams for the Ravens in that victory.
Sully played special teams for the Los Angeles Rams in a loss to Pittsburgh in 1980; former NFL Most Valuable Player Rich Gannon started at quarterback for the Oakland Raiders in a loss to Tampa Bay in 2003; Jamin Elliott was a member of the practice squad for New England and earned a championship ring when the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVII over the Carolina Panthers in 2004; tight end Ben Patrick caught a touchdown pass for the Arizona Cardinals in a 2009 loss vs. Pittsburgh; and Adams - a 2014 Pro Bowl selection - started at safety for the Denver Broncos in their 43-8 setback to Seattle in Super Bowl XLVIII in East Rutherford, N.Y. last season.
“It's Super Bowl week, this is a dream come true,” Burley told seahawks.com's Tony Venrealla in an interview this week at Media Day. “We attack every week the same so this will be nothing new to us. The Patriots have a great offense but we will be prepared for them. We are a close group on and off the field. As soon as I got here (to Seattle after trade from Indianapolis) my teammates helped me transition and get adapted. It's been great.”
Burley is one of only 10 players on either the Seahawks or Patriots rosters who played collegiately at the NCAA Division I FCS level. He is joined by teammates Brock Coyle (Montana), Tarvaris Jackson (Alabama A&M), Lane (Northwestern State), DeShawn Shead (Portland State), and Bryan Walters (Cornell) and Patriots players Kyle Arrington (Hofstra), Dan Connolly (Southeast Missouri State), James Develin (Brown), and Jimmy Garoppolo (Eastern Illinois).
Delaware is the only FCS school that has had a player on a Super Bowl roster each of the last three seasons.
