By Katherine Smith
Special to GatorZone.com
INDIANAPOLIS – Aaron Hernandez and Brandon Spikes came into the NFL together and are about to share the biggest stage in football – the Super Bowl.
The New England Patriots 2010 draft picks and former University of Florida All-Americans recently reflected on their quick ascent to the game’s greatest spectacle.
“I was with Spikes the other day and we were just sitting there in the car and we were like, ‘Wow, we are really playing in the Super Bowl.’ I know it will really hit me when we walk into the game and all those cameras will be flashing and we’ll notice this is the Super Bowl,’’ Hernandez said. “This is a dream come true. I never thought I would be in this position or have this experience, but I’ll definitely take it all in and hold this for the rest of my life.”
The Patriots take on the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI Sunday. The fact they are in a position to obtain their fourth title is in part because of Hernandez’s play this season. Alongside fellow second-year player Rob Gronkowski, the two have redefined the role of tight end in the NFL.
Gronkowski, who is questionable with an ankle sprain but expected to play Sunday, set a league single-season record for tight ends in receiving yards (1,327) and became the first tight end in NFL history to lead the league in touchdown catches with 17. While Gronkowski was rewriting the NFL’s record books, Hernandez was surpassing his rookie numbers, where he set a Patriots rookie record for most receptions by a tight end with 39. This season, Hernandez posted 79 receptions for 910 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, landing him in the top 5 among the league’s tight ends.
The league's top tight end tandem inflicts game-planning headaches on opposing teams.
"Their tight ends, they propose a lot of threats,'' Giants linebacker Michael Boley said. “Not just because they’re two tremendous athletes, but because they both do a lot of different things as far as alignment. Alignment wise, that’s where it all starts. They split those guys out as No. 1 receivers and they put them in slots like they’re receivers.''
In the Patriots’ past two games alone, including the AFC Championship victory against the Baltimore Ravens, Hernandez has showed off his versatility with 191 scrimmage yards (121 receiving, 70 rushing), creating more matchup problems for New England's opponents.
“I was excited (to run the ball),’’ Hernandez said. “I love having the ball in my hands. I played running back in the day and I love running back, so I hope they give it to me some more.’’
Going back to his days with the Gators, Hernandez is used to carrying the load for the offense. He set new marks at Florida for tight ends with his career-record 111 receptions and the single-season mark of 68 catches in 2009. He capped off his stellar Gators career by collecting the John Mackey Award, given to the nation’s top tight end.
That production caught the eye of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
“I think he was the youngest or second-youngest player in the draft last year, 20 years old or whatever he was,’’ Belichick said. “He came out after three years. He played in an offense that was very productive, but it was an offense that was different than the one we run. There is a little bit of projection there in terms of some of the things we would ask our tight ends to do. He was very productive at Florida.’’
Part of that production included his team-high receiving yards in the Gators’ National Championship victory against Oklahoma in 2009. Playing on the biggest stage in college football has helped him adjust to the magnitude of playing in a Super Bowl.
“You dream of stuff like this since you’re a little kid,’’ he said. “You never really actually see yourself in this position because obviously it’s always a dream, but to be here seems surreal.
“I remember doing the media day in college. I was looking around then just thinking how crazy that was, and now I’m in the Super Bowl and thinking how crazy this is. It’s crazy.’’
