Defensive lineman Jason Pierre-Paul played with the College of the Canyons (COC) Cougars back in 2007 and is now a two-time Super Bowl Champion after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the big one on Sunday.
At 32 years-old, Pierre-Paul helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeat the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in a dominant 31-9 showing on Sunday at Super Bowl LV.
He won his first Super Bowl as a member of the New York Giants defense back in 2012, when he faced the offensive line of the New England Patriots, who were led at the time by his now-teammate Tom Brady.
Pierre-Paul continued his personal streak of eight straight playoff victories, while adding three tackles and a deflected pass to his Super Bowl LV stat line. The outside linebacker and edge rusher was a key part of the relentless pass rush that antagonized Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes on a reported 29 of 56 dropbacks.
A Pro Bowl selection in 2020, Pierre-Paul ended the regular season with 55 total tackles, 9.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and two interceptions. He then added a pair of sacks during Tampa Bay’s road victory versus Green Bay in the NFC Championship game.
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Amidst the victory, his long journey back to the Super Bowl included some unfortunate off-the-field adversities that had to be overcome.
In 2015, an off-season fireworks accident resulted in Pierre-Paul having his right index finger amputated, limiting him to just eight games the following season. The following year he was forced out of the final portion of the season, and missed the Giants’ playoff game, after undergoing sports hernia surgery.
Following his trade to Tampa Bay, Pierre-Paul suffered a neck fracture in a car accident which threatened his season and ultimately limited him to just eight games.
With the Buccaneers’ victory on Sunday, Pierre-Paul became the first former COC Cougar to play in multiple Super Bowls.
During his lone season at COC in 2007, he registered 49 total tackles, 14 sacks and 19 tackles for loss to go with two forced fumbles and an interception. Those numbers earned Pierre-Paul the freshman All-Western State Conference and All-American honors. Pierre-Paul played his final year of college at the University of South Florida, after a stop at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas. He was then drafted by the Giants in 2010.
Paul-Pierre is also the second former Cougar to win multiple Super Bowl rings, joining offensive lineman Caylin Hauptmann who attended the college in 2009. Although Hauptmann didn’t play during the wins, he was part of the back-to-back championships in 2014 and 2015.
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