Donald, Boyd, Hilton among local ties heading to Super Bowl

ALTOONA, Pa. -- Superstar Aaron Donald will get a second chance to win his first Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams, while fellow Pitt product Tyler Boyd will be making his first appearance with the surprising Cincinnati Bengals.

Those two, and former Steelers cornerback Mike Hilton, lead the contingent of local players heading to Super Bowl LVI. Hilton is in his first season with the Bengals and will be in his first Super Bowl.

Penn State will be represented by two players with the Rams -- safety Nick Scott and cornerback Grant Haley. Both will be appearing in their first Super Bowl.

This year's game will be Feb. 13 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., which is the Rams' home stadium. The home team opened up as a 4-point favorite.

Here's a closer look at the players.

PITT PROUD

Donald is one of the best players in the NFL and has started entering the discussion as perhaps the best defensive tackle ever. He's a three-time winner of the NFL Defensive Player of the Year honor and, well, he's just flat out awesome in the minds of people around the league.

Donald, from Penn Hills High School, played at Pitt from 2010-13. He racked up numerous national awards his senior season, including the Outland Trophy, Lombardi Award and Bednarik Award. He was the 13th pick in the 2014 draft and has spent his entire career with the Rams.

Donald and the Rams went to Super Bowl LII in 2019, and while their defense played well, the offense did virtually nothing in a 13-3 loss to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Donald will go back thanks to a 20-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.

This year, Donald was first-team All Pro for the seventh consecutive season and played in all 17 games with 12.5 sacks, 19 tackles for loss, 25 QB hits and 84 tackles (46 solo).

Boyd is in his sixth NFL season, all with the Bengals, who drafted him in the second round (55th overall) out of Pitt in 2016.

Boyd played in 16 games for the Bengals, starting 10, during the regular season and finished with 67 catches for 828 yards and five touchdowns. He set career highs with 90 catches and 1,046 yards in 2019.

He had four catches for 19 yards in Cincy's 27-24 win over the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.

Boyd played his high school ball at Clairton.

PENN STATERS SUPER AGAIN

It became a running joke last year when Penn State Athletics, in an attempt to show just how frequently Nittany Lion players have appeared in the Super Bowl, put out the following comically inept graphic (notice the fine print underneath the massive letters):

Penn State was guaranteed to have at least two more players reach a Super Bowl heading into the NFC Championship Game. Kicker Robbie Gould and defensive tackle Kevin Givens were hoping to make it for the 49ers.

Instead, Scott and Haley were on the winning side as the Rams edged San Francisco.

Scott began his career as a running back at Penn State before moving over to play safety on defense, and he was a special teams ace. The Rams drafted him in the seventh round in 2019, and he's turned himself into a key contributor.

Scott had 47 tackles (28 solo) and two interceptions in 17 games this season, earning one start. He also had a big interception in last week's playoff game against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Haley will always be known for scoring a touchdown off a blocked field goal to give Penn State a stunning upset against Ohio State in 2016. He went undrafted in 2018 but has played 31 games with 12 starts in four NFL seasons.

Haley was released by the Saints in the preseason, then signed to the Rams' practice squad.

He eventually earned a spot on the active roster and appeared in five games for the team this season.

One other note on the Rams roster: Troy Reeder, a starting linebacker, began his career at Penn State before transferring to Delaware. He was on the Big Ten All-Freshman team for the Lions but still decided to transfer and played with his brother at Delaware. Reeder, who went undrafted in 2019, had 91 tackles and 2 sacks this season.

FORMER STEELER STILL GOING

Hilton spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Steelers from 2017-20, and he was a solid player for the team in the important slot corner position. He started 20 games in those four years and had seven interceptions.

Hilton signed a four-year, $24 million free agent deal with the Bengals after the 2020 season. He played in all 17 games and started nine this season, finishing with two interceptions and 66 tackles.

BAD TIMING

One other personnel note: Former Steelers safety Antoine Brooks was with the Rams this season, but he will not be going to the Super Bowl. In some really bad timing, Brooks was waived by the Rams on Saturday, just one day before the NFC title game.

Brooks was a sixth-round draft pick of the Steelers in 2020 and played in four games that year. He played eight games for the Rams this season, with just three tackles.