A CLOSER LOOK AT HOW NICK EASON BECAME A SUPER BOWL CHAMP

On Sunday, Nick Eason became the 21st former Clemson Tiger football player to become a Super Bowl champion when his Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-23. Eason, whose Steelers jersey number is 93, did play as a backup defensive end in Super Bowl 43 but did not record any tackles, sacks or other stats., according to NFL.com.

Eason's career path to the Super Bowl Championship is interesting. For any NFL player, winning the Super Bowl championship is the penultimate goal but very few ever attain it and most never even play in the big game. Consider these facts: There are 32 NFL teams and each team has 53 players on its roster for a total of 1696 players. Only 2 teams or 106 players make it to the Super Bowl each year, which is equal to only 6.25% of the total teams and players in the league. Ultimately, there is only 1 team and 53 players who will be champions each year.

When you consider those odds, don't forget about just how difficult it is to make it into the NFL in the first place. Of all the thousands of eligible college football players across the nation, only a total of 262 were selected by NFL teams in the 2003 draft. Of that total number, only 26 defensive ends- Eason's position- were selected. The percentage of NCAA players who are drafted into the NFL is miniscule- less than 2%.

Once a player makes it into the NFL, staying in the league can be a challenge as well. The NFL is also referred to as Not For Long. Of the 262 drafted in 2003, some players didn't even make it past training camp because they were cut. Some suffered career-ending injuries. Some were waived or cut by the team during or after the season. It's tough enough just getting drafted but Eason's experiences afterwards also show just how difficult things can be to remain in the NFL.

After his final season at Clemson, Nick was chosen as one of three players, including Carson Palmer and Jeff Roehl (no longer in the NFL), to be featured on the 2003 ESPN tv program "Hey Rookie, Welcome To The NFL". The show was designed to give viewers a behind the scenes look at the players through the draft process and their experiences as a rookie in the league. Eason appeared stressed as cameras rolled while he sat with family in his parents' home in Lyons, GA watching the draft on television. Finally, relief came over his face when his name was called by the Denver Broncos in the 4th round, the 114th overall player chosen as his family celebrated.

Things did not go so well in the beginning. Right off the bat, Nick suffered an achilles injury in Broncos training camp that kept him sidelined for the entire first season. After rehabilitating, the Broncos sent Eason to Scotland in early 2004 to play for the NFL Europe's Scottish Claymores. Upon returning to Denver after the 10 week season, he was relegated to the Broncos' practice squad. Then, on Sept. 24, 2004, Eason was waived by Denver. He never played in a single NFL game for the Broncos. This could have been the end of the road- there was just no way to know if another NFL team would be willing to sign Eason.

With the regular season underway and NFL rosters set, many weeks went by before Nick was signed by the Cleveland Browns in mid-November. He played in one game during that 2004 season and recorded two tackles. He must have showed enough promise. In 2005, he played in all 16 games for the Browns as a backup, recording 19 tackles and 2 sacks. Eason then played in 13 games for the Browns during the 2006 season. In 2007, the Steelers signed Eason as an unrestricted free agent for one year, in which he played in all 16 regular season games. This past year, he signed a two-year contract with the Steelers to play through the 2009 season.

Congratulations to Nick Eason for being a Super Bowl Champion and for continuing to work hard, persevere and believe in himself in spite of the odds. He was one of the fortunate few who overcame the setbacks and obstacles he had to deal with early on. For more information on Nick Eason, please see the previous article dated Jan. 19, 2009 located further down on this page.

FORMER TIGER NICK EASON IN SUPER BOWL 43

The NFL conference championship games are over and Super Bowl 43 will match the AFC champ Pittsburgh Steelers against the NFC champ Arizona Cardinals. The only former Tiger on the roster of either team is #93, DE Nick Eason of the Steelers. Eason, from Lyons, GA, played football and basketball for Toombs Co. High School (GA). He was a star in both sports, being named Georgia's 2A Basketball Player of the Year and lettering four years in football. Nick was recruited by Clemson to play defensive end.

After red-shirting his freshman year, he played DE at Clemson during the 1999-2000 seasons and was then moved to defensive tackle for the 2001-2002 seasons. For his career, Eason recorded 155 tackles, 30 tackles for loss, 15 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Eason was named the team Defensive MVP in 2000 and was an all-ACC first team selection his senior year in 2002. During his Clemson career, he also spent a great deal of time involved in community service and was honored with a Top Six Award for four straight years, presented by the ACC to the top six student-athletes at each school recognizing them for their community service. Nick also holds the distinction of being the first athlete at Clemson to graduate in three years and have two years of eligibility remaining.

Upon completion of his career as a Tiger, Eason was then selected by the Denver Broncos in the 4th round of the 2003 NFL draft. Eason suffered an achilles injury (one that had bothered him greatly during his Sr. season at Clemson) during his first year and did not play. In 2004, he was waived by the Broncos and signed by the Cleveland Browns, appearing in one game. In 2005, Eason played in all 16 games for the Browns, recording 19 tackles and 2 sacks. In 2006, he started 3 games for the Browns and played in 13, recording 23 tackles. In 2007, he was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Steelers and played in all 16 games, making 14 tackles. Pittsburgh signed Eason to a 2 year contract in 2008 and he finished the regular season with 17 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Although I am a Tampa Bay Bucs fan and have Gaines Adams to pull for as a bonus, I always pull for the NFL teams that have former Tigers on their roster as long as they're not playing the Bucs. So, during this year's Super Bowl, I will be cheering for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the hopes that Nick Eason will be added to the list of former Tigers with an NFL Super Bowl ring.