Southeast Missouri Interview with Dan Connolly
When Super Bowl XLVI kicks off Sunday in Indianapolis, three people involved with the game will have ties to the Ohio Valley Conference.
Two former OVC student-athletes will be playing in the game for the New England Patriots, including former Eastern Kentucky defensive back Antwaun Molden and former Southeast Missouri State offensive lineman Dan Connolly. The third person is New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese, who played football at UT Martin.
Molden joined the Patriots prior to the start of the 2011 season after spending three years with the Houston Texans. The defensive back has played in all 18 games for the Patriots this season and totaled 36 tackles. In the regular season finale against Buffalo on Jan. 1, Molden tallied a season-high seven tackles to go along with an interception. He recorded his first career NFL interception in the 38-20 win over Philadelphia on Nov. 27. The Cleveland, Ohio native was a third-round pick of the Texans in the 2008 NFL Draft.
Molden was a three-year member of the Colonels (2005-07) after spending his freshman season at Toledo. He started all 12 games at corner back as a senior while helping EKU capture the 2007 Ohio Valley Conference title. Molden led the Colonels with nine pass break-ups in 2007 while also registering interceptions in wins over Southeast Missouri and Tennessee State.
Connolly signed as a free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars after the 2005 NFL Draft and spent two years on the Jags practice squad before joining the Patriots in prior to the 2007 season. He spent two seasons on the Pats practice squad before making his New England debut against Atlanta on special teams on Sept. 27, 2009. He has played in 41 games over the past three years.
Last season (2010) he set the NFL record for the longest kick-return by an offensive lineman, returning a squib kick 71 yards to the four-yard line against the Green Bay Packers. Connolly was a four-year starter for Southeast from 2001-04, earning All-Ohio Valley Conference honors all four years, including first-team accolades his senior season.
Reese played defensive back at UT Martin from 1981-84, twice earning All-Gulf South Conference honors. After graduation he was a graduate assistant (1985-87) and later assistant coach (1988-94) with the Skyhawks prior to joining the New York Giants as a scout. Reese later worked as an assistant in player personnel prior to becoming Director of Player Personnel in 2002. In 2007 he became the Senior Vice President and General Manager and led the Giants to the Super Bowl XLII Championship in his first year on the job. It was the third Super Bowl Championship for the Giants organization and first since 1990.
A year ago (2010) former Tennessee State defensive back Anthony Levine earned a Super Bowl ring in his rookie season as a member of the Green Bay Packers' practice squad.
The year prior (2009) former Murray State wide receiver Rod Harper earned a Super Bowl ring as a injured reserve member of the New Orleans Saints.