How hard is it for a young man to play in a Super Bowl?

Less than 10 percent of all NFL players over the years have actually played in a Super Bowl and only 11 percent have won a Super Bowl in their careers.

To go even deeper on how rare it is to play in a Super Bowl, according to the NCAA, only 1.7 percent of all college football players have played in the NFL and 0.08 percent of all high school players have made it to the NFL.

So just getting into the NFL, much less playing in a Super Bowl is extremely difficult to do.

Over the years, Clemson has had 24 former Tigers be part of a Super Bowl Championship, and even more have played in a Super Bowl.

So how many former Tigers, who played under Dabo Swinney, have played in a Super Bowl?

When the New England Patriots play the Philadelphia Eagles tonight in Super Bowl LII, New England tight end Dwayne Allen will be just the fifth former Swinney player to play in world’s biggest game. Allen is the first former offensive player under Swinney to play in a Super Bowl.

Allen’s former teammates, Vic Beasley, Bryon Maxwell and Crezdon Butler, were also a part of teams that made to the Super Bowl. Former defensive tackle Grady Garrett also played in a Super Bowl.

Maxwell, who played in Super Bowl’s XLVIII and XLIX, is the only former Tiger under Swinney to part of a winning team in the Super Bowl. Maxwell started Super Bowl XLVIII as the Seattle Seahawks dominated the Denver Broncos, 43-8.

Maxwell started the game at cornerback for the Seahawks and recorded four tackles and forced a fumble. He also started Super Bowl XLIX for Seattle, but the Patriots rallied to win the game, 28-24. However, Maxwell played well, intercepting Tom Brady once, while recording five tackles.

Cornerback Crezdon Butler was the first former Tiger who played for Swinney to play on a Super Bowl team. In his rookie season, he was on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 53-man roster that represented the AFC in Super Bowl XLV. The Green Bay Packers ended up beating the Steelers that afternoon.

The last two players from the Swinney era to make it to a Super Bowl are Atlanta’s Vic Beasley and Grady Jarrett. Both former Tigers played in last year’s loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl LI.

Jarrett played the game of his life in the Super Bowl, tying a Super Bowl record by sacking Brady three times. He had five tackles overall.

Beasley, who led the NFL in sacks with 15.5 in 2016, batted a Brady pass down.

However, Brady led the Patriots back from a 25-point deficit to beat the Falcons in overtime 34-28. It was the first ever Super Bowl to go to overtime and the first NFL Championship to need overtime since the 1959 Classic when the Colts beat the Giants.

–Photo Credit: Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports