Locals in the Super Bowl: Rashid Shaheed goes from 1 scholarship offer to Super Bowl champion

AROUND THE SHIELD — Rashid Shaheed was once barely wanted out of high school, barely wanted out of college — and he's now a Super Bowl champion.

The former undrafted free agent out of Weber State has made a habit of proving others wrong, though. Or at least, proving himself right.

Shaheed totaled 58 yards on offense and special teams in Seattle's 29-13 win over the New England Patriots, one of two local players on the Seahawks' active roster to win a Super Bowl title. Former Utah linebacker Connor O'Toole went undrafted last year after injuries littered his final two seasons with the Utes, but made Seattle's initial 53-man roster and played mostly on special teams at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

Indeed, two undrafted free agents with ties to the Wasatch Front won a Super Bowl ring Sunday night. Few stories are quite like Shaheed's, though — the fourth Weber State player to play in a Super Bowl and just the seventh Wildcat to win a Super Bowl ring overall.

The San Diego native was a star sprinter in high school from a family of track stars, including mom Cassandra who ran the 400-meter hurdles at the University of San Diego. He had to beg his parents to let him play football, but the section champion sprinter in the 200 and 400 eventually went on to draw collegiate interest.

From one school, at least.

"Only one," he told the Tacoma News-Tribune this week, referring to the interest from then-head coach Jay Hill and offensive coordinator Fesi Sitake in Ogden.

In an offense led by wide receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba (four catches, 27 yards) and Cooper Kupp (six catches, 61 yards) who combined for 22 of Sam Darnold's 38 pass attempts, Shaheed left his own mark.

Shaheed finished with two catches for 27 yards, but the speedster who passed on a Division I track scholarship at USC to play football in the Big Sky, made his own big plays. He also returned two punts for 16 yards and had a 20-yard kick return along with six fair catches on special teams.

The 6-foot speedster opened the second half with a key grab over the middle, hauling in a 16-yard reception as quarterback Sam Arnold turned an angry Patriots pass rush into a first down. That set up Jason Myers' fourth field goal of the game to put Seattle up 12-0.

Darnold found AJ Barner with a 16-yard score for the former USC signal caller's first touchdown of the game with 13:24 remaining. Seattle took a 19-0 advantage, and the Seahawks' defense had the game in control.

Drake Maye found Mack Hollins on back-to-back plays, including a 35-yard touchdown a minute later, to pull one back for the Patriots. But Julian Love picked off Maye to punctuate Seattle's defensive masterclass, and Myers booted a Super Bowl-record fifth field goal from 26 yards out to push the Seahawks back in front, 22-7 with 5:35 remaining and pull away for good.

Shaheed was an undrafted free agent coming out of Weber State in 2022 before the New Orleans Saints took a chance on him. Initially released before joining the practice squad, the Saints then promoted him to the active roster, then the starting lineup, and he eventually was named to the roster of the Pro Bowl Games in 2024.

Facing unrestricted free agency at the end of the season, New Orleans traded Shaheed to the Seahawks on Nov. 4 for a fourth and fifth-round pick in the 2026 NFL draft. He responded with a 100-yard touchdown to open the second half of Seattle's 37-9 win over the Falcons in Week 14, and was announced to his second Pro Bowl as a kick returner last month.

Not every former Utah high school and college football player that appeared in this year's Super Bowl was featured on the field.

Former BYU linebacker Fred Warner made his NBC debut as a guest analyst for the network's Super Bowl coverage, providing color analysis before and after the game, as well as on the halftime studio set at the 49ers linebacker's home stadium.

Puka Nacua also made an appearance at the Super Bowl, but not on the field. The former BYU and Orem High star appeared alongside NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace and U.S. Paralympian Oksana Masters in an ad for Toyota called "Where Dreams Began."

Former Utah State quarterback Chuckie Keeton was also in the building as an offensive assistant with the Patriots, after working in a similar capacity in Seattle in 2024.

The 2015 Aggie alum who set school records in career completion percentage, interception percentage and passing efficiency also spent eight years coaching in college, including as an analyst and running backs coach at his alma mater (2021-22) and quality control coach at Oregon State from 2016-17.

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