Former FCS Wideout Kupp Wins Super Bowl MVP
The confetti is probably still being cleaned up in Los Angeles after the Rams dramatic victory in Super Bowl 56 over the Cincinnati Bengals. Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who had arguably the best season at the position in NFL history, capped it off last night by taking home Super Bowl MVP Honors.
Kupp becomes the 8th wideout to ever win the award, and just the second in the last 13 seasons (Julian Edelman).
The product of Eastern Washington University, Kupp joins 7 other MVPs that did not attend a FBS program, or "major college football."
It goes to show that you can never count out the little guy, and also, it's time to acknowledge FCS and DII football programs as equally capable of producing top tier talent.
Here is the surprisingly long list of non-FBS Super Bowl MVP winners:
Harvey Martin - Super Bowl XII - Dallas Cowboys - DII Texas State (now Texas A&M Commerce)
Richard Dent - Super Bowl XX - Chicago Bears - Tennessee State
Phil Simms - Super Bowl XXI - New York Giants - Morehead State
Doug Williams - Super Bowl XXII - Washington Football team - Grambling State
Jerry Rice - Super Bowl XXIII - San Francisco 49ers - Mississippi Valley State
Kurt Warner - Super Bowl XXXIV - St. Louis Rams - University of Northern Iowa
Joe Flacco - Super Bowl XLVII - Baltimore Ravens - University of Delaware
Cooper Kupp - Super Bowl LVI - Los Angeles Rams - Eastern Washington University
It's a long and impressive list to Kupp added himself to last night, and it adds to the monster season he put together.
In Sunday Night's win, Kupp finished with 8 catches for 92 yards and 2 touchdowns, including the game-winning score.
On the season, Kupp won NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors, and finished with the most catches (145), yards (1,947), and receiving touchdowns (16) in the league.
Sources: Wikipedia and Pro Football Statistics and History | Pro-Football-Reference.com