Former Eastern Kentucky University tight end Matt Lengel helped New England win Super Bowl LI on Sunday. The Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons, 34-28, in overtime.
Lengel appeared to be wide open in the end zone on the second to last play of the game. New England quarterback Tom Brady however threw an incomplete pass to Martellus Bennett on first-and-goal. On the next play, James White scored from two yards out to give the Patriots their fifth Super Bowl title.
Lengel is the third former Colonel to win a Super Bowl title. Myron Guyton was a member of the New York Giants team that beat Buffalo, 20-19, in Super Bowl XXV. Danny Copeland helped the Washington Redskins knock off Buffalo, 37-24, a year later in Super Bowl XXVI.
Lengel was the sixth former Colonel to play in a Super Bowl. Including Guyton and Copeland, the others were John Jackson (Pittsburgh, 1996), Tim Lester (Pittsburgh, 1996) and Antwaun Molden (New England, 2012).
The native of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania joined the Patriots in November after serving on the Cincinnati Bengals’ practice squad for a year and a half. He played in six games during the regular season and caught two passes for 22 yards and scored a touchdown. He caught his first NFL touchdown pass against the New York Jets on Dec. 24, an 18-yard reception. He had one catch for four yards in the season finale 35-14 victory at Miami.
Lengel, who’s 6-foot-7 and 266 pounds, played tight end for the Colonels from 2010 to 2014. He fought back from season-ending injuries in 2012 and 2013 to play in 12 games as a senior with nine starts. He hauled in a season-high three receptions four times in 2014 and finished fifth on the squad with 16 catches for 139 yards. Lengel recorded his only two collegiate touchdown catches in 2011, which included a 55-yard scoring play against Chattanooga.
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Kevin Britton
Assistant Athletics Director for Communications & Branding