NORFOLK, Va. — Two thousand three hundred and fifty-four miles separate Super Bowl host State Farm Stadium and Old Dominion's SB Ballard Stadium. Come Sunday, however, two players will connect the distant football cathedrals.
Philadelphia Eagle's long snapper Rick Lovato becomes the first ODU Monarch to play in his second Super Bowl. Wide receiver Zach Pascal will also don Philly green, making it the first Super Bowl to feature two Monarchs. Bobby Wilder's 13 year run at the school is fitting of this destination.
Wilder built the program from scratch, leading it from FCS to FBS and then on a climb through conferences once in the Bowl Subdivision. There are Monarch pawprints throughout the NFL. The most famous player from that run, quarterback Taylor Heinicke, has started a litany of games for Washington over the past 2 seasons. Now the Norfolk to NFL connection grows as Pascal and Lovato take the biggest stage.
While Wilder watches his former players go for rings, he's also focused on improvement with a new batch of players. At the Bobby Wilder Passing Academy, he's able to get back to his roots, "It's all just working with young people, when I first got into coaching, that's all I wanted, I just wanted to coach," says Wilder.
Come Sunday, when his new pupils turn their eyes to the TV, they'll see a few Monarchs to pull lessons from.