This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

San Jose, Calif. • If he could have scripted everything about Super Bowl 50, Carolina Panthers defensive lineman Star Lotulelei would be opposing New England and Sealver Siliga, his former University of Utah teammate and childhood friend from the southwest Salt Lake Valley.

Such a reunion would have made a good tale, although that's asking a lot. Lotulelei's life is a story unto itself, with checkpoints from Tonga to Orem to South Jordan to Ephraim to Salt Lake City to Charlotte. "My journey hasn't been easy," Lotulelei said this week, in the buildup to Sunday's game vs. Denver at Levi's Stadium, "but it's been well worth it."

The lineman with the given name of Starlite is cast in a role that's hardly glamorous, occupying blockers so his defensive teammates can thrive, yet Lotulelei said, "I couldn't ask for a better job."

That's understandable. His former employer, Bradley's Furniture in South Salt Lake, offered regular hours and steady income for delivering its rustic products, but nothing quite like the $9.6 million contract and eventual Super Bowl appearance that came with Lotulelei's rise through various levels of football in Utah to become the Panthers' first-round draft choice three years ago.

Lotulelei's arrival in the Super Bowl is "a compliment to him, to his drive to provide for his family," said his younger brother, Lowell, a rising star as a Ute lineman.

Nobody really could have this coming, though — not in a state that had produced five previous NFL first-round picks among its high school graduates. All along, Lotulelei showed signs of what he might become, but only amid twists and turns that made the ending rather unpredictable.

"I mean, there were times when we'd watch him do something and say, 'Whoa, man, that was incredible.' He had those moments," said Dave Peck, his coach at Bingham High School, where he helped the Miners win their first state championship in 60 years.

"He made plays all the time that were phenomenal," said Steve Coburn, who coached him for one year at Snow College.

"He learned quickly and was able to make that strength and power functional," said John Pease, his position coach as a Utah sophomore.

The variables came off the field. Academic issues nearly derailed him at Bingham, where he transferred as a junior after playing two years at Timpanogos in Orem, and then kept him from accepting a scholarship offer to BYU. He was passionate about video games, but "the football part wasn't clear in his mind yet," his brother said.

Lotulelei spent the 2007 season moving furniture, an experience that still makes him cringe in the retelling. "Nine to five … back-breaking work," he said. "Football's not easy, but you have a lot more fun doing it."

So he enrolled at Snow, which has a history of positively redirecting football careers, including those of recent Super Bowl contestants Brett Keisel, Deuce Lutui and Jordan Devey. Lotulelei thrived in Ephraim, doing enough in one year on the field to secure a spot at Utah. He preserved a year's eligibility by redshirting and taking classes at Snow and Salt Lake Community College and started a family with his wife, Fuiva, a former Snow volleyball player.

Lotulelei's trip from Bingham to the NFL ended up taking six years, but that's partly to his credit. He could have entered the draft after two seasons with the Utes. Considering his talent and need to support two daughters, nobody would have criticized him for leaving, but he choose to stay in school and kept improving. "He's a totally different person," Peck said, remembering his pointed conversations about academics at Bingham. "The old Star would have jumped all over the opportunity to make some money playing football."

Siliga was instrumental is persuading Lotulelei to remain at Utah, citing his own mistake in leaving early. He became a Super Bowl winner with the Patriots, but only after being undrafted and starting a circuitous trip around the NFL.

Lotulelei's path is much smoother as a first-rounder, and he's more than making up for whatever income he missed as a Ute senior in 2012, when he became a first-team All-American and improved his draft position. Statistically, he made a bigger impact in his first two NFL years than this season, but his value is unquestioned by teammate Kawann Short, who made the AP All-Pro second team. Lotulelei is "probably 95 percent of why I'm successful," Short said. "You see him push back two offensive linemen, and it opens it up one-on-one for me. I just capitalize off what he does."

Peck marvels about how his formerly shy player's personality has developed. He's still the unassuming person Coburn remembers at Snow, yet Carolina defensive line coach Eric Washington cites moments when Lotulelei will get the meeting room's attention. "Just like at Utah," said former Ute teammate Brian Blechen, a Panthers practice squad member, "when he does say something, people listen."

Lotulelei will have a big stage Sunday, when his parents, brother and seven sisters will converge in the Bay Area to watch him play the game that has taken him places, once he determined where he was going.

Twitter: @tribkurt —

Exclusive club

In 2013, Bingham's Star Lotulelei became the sixth Utah high school graduate picked in the first round of the NFL draft. Four members of that group have reached the Super Bowl.

Year Player Pos. School Team Pick

1962 Merlin Olsen DL Logan Rams No. 3

1970 Phil Olsen DL Logan Patriots No. 4

1982 Jim McMahon* QB Roy Bears No. 5

1998 Kevin Dyson* WR Clearfield Titans No. 16

2006 Haloti Ngata* DL Highland Ravens No. 12

2013 Star Lotulelei* DL Bingham Panthers No. 14

* — Super Bowl participant —

Utah high schoolers in the Super Bowl

The Super Bowl history of Utah high school graduates, listed on the game-day active roster:

Super Bowl Player High School College Position Team Result

X Golden Richards Granite BYU/Hawaii WR Dallas Pittsburgh 21, Dallas 17

XII Golden Richards Granite BYU/Hawaii WR Dallas Dallas 27, Denver 10

XVII Mat Mendenhall East BYU DE Washington Washington 27, Miami 17

XVII Steve Clark Skyline Utah DL Miami Washington 27, Miami 17

XVII Bruce Hardy Bingham Arizona State TE Miami Washington 27, Miami 17

XIX Steve Clark Skyline Utah DL Miami San Francisco 38, Miami 16

XIX Bruce Hardy Bingham Arizona State TE Miami San Francisco 38, Miami 16

XX Jim McMahon Roy BYU QB Chicago Chicago 46, New England 10

XX Art Plunkett Skyline UNLV OT New England Chicago 46, New England 10

XXI Rulon Jones Weber Utah State DE Denver N.Y. Giants 39, Denver 20

XXII Rulon Jones Weber Utah State DE Denver Washington 42, Denver 10

XXV Hal Garner Logan Utah State LB Buffalo N.Y. Giants 20, Buffalo 19

XXVI Hal Garner Logan Utah State LB Buffalo Washington 37, Buffalo 24

XXIX Alfred Pupunu South Weber State TE San Diego San Francisco 49, San Diego 26

XXXI Jim McMahon Roy BYU QB Green Bay Green Bay 35, New England 21

XXXIII Travis Hall West Jordan BYU DT Atlanta Denver 34, Atlanta 19

XXXIV Kevin Dyson Clearfield Utah WR Tennessee St. Louis 23, Tennessee 16

XXXVII Barry Sims Park City Utah OT Oakland Tampa Bay 48, Oakland 21

XXXVII Doug Jolley Dixie BYU TE Oakland Tampa Bay 48, Oakland 21

XXXVII Junior Ioane North Sanpete Arizona State DT Oakland Tampa Bay 48, Oakland 21

XXXVIII Kevin Dyson Clearfield Utah WR Carolina New England 32, Carolina 29

XXXIX Reno Mahe Brighton BYU RB Philadelphia New England 24, Philadelphia 20

XL Andre Dyson Clearfield Utah DB Seattle Pittsburgh 21, Seattle 10

XLVII Paul Kruger Timpanogos Utah LB Baltimore Baltimore 34, San Francisco 31

XLVII Haloti Ngata Highland Oregon DT Baltimore Baltimore 34, San Francisco 31

XLVII Will Tukuafu East Oregon FB San Francisco Baltimore 34, San Francisco 31

XLVIII Zane Beadles Hillcrest Utah OG Denver Seattle 43, Denver 8

XLIX Sealver Siliga Copper Hills Utah DT New England New England 28, Seattle 24

XLIX Will Tukuafu East Oregon FB Seattle New England 28, Seattle 24 —

Ex-Utes in the Super Bowl

The history of former University of Utah players on Super Bowl game-day active rosters:

Bowl Player Pos. Team Result

I Marv Fleming WR Green Bay Green Bay 35, Kansas City 10

II Marv Fleming WR Green Bay Green Bay 33, Oakland 14

V Roy Jefferson WR Baltimore Baltimore 16, Dallas 13

VI Marv Fleming WR Miami Dallas 24, Miami 3

VI Manny Fernandez DT Miami Dallas 24, Miami 3

VII Marv Fleming WR Miami Miami 14, Washington 7

VII Manny Fernandez DT Miami Miami 14, Washington 7

VII Roy Jefferson WR Washington Miami 14, Washington 7

VIII Marv Fleming WR Miami Miami 24, Minnesota 7

VIII Manny Fernandez DT Miami Miami 24, Minnesota 7

XVII Steve Clark OT Miami Washington 27, Miami 17

XIX Steve Clark OT Miami San Francisco 38, Miami 16

XIX Carl Monroe RB San Francisco San Francisco 38, Miami 16

XXIII Del Rodgers RB San Francisco San Francisco 20, Cincinnati 16

XXXIII Jamal Anderson RB Atlanta Denver 34, Atlanta 19

XXXIV Kevin Dyson WR Tennessee St. Louis 23, Tennessee 16

XXXV Anthony Davis LB Baltimore Baltimore 34, N.Y. Giants 7

XXXVII Barry Sims OG Oakland Tampa Bay 48, Oakland 21

XXXVIII Kevin Dyson WR Carolina New England 32, Carolina 29

XXXVIII Jordan Gross OT Carolina New England 32, Carolina 29

XXXVIII Steve Smith WR Carolina New England 32, Carolina 29

XL Andre Dyson DB Seattle Pittsburgh 21, Seattle 10

XLIII Chris Kemoeatu OG Pittsburgh Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 23

XLV Chris Kemoeatu OG Pittsburgh Green Bay 31, Pittsburgh 25

XLV Stevenson Sylvester LB Pittsburgh Green Bay 31, Pittsburgh 25

XLVII Ma'ake Kemoeatu DT Baltimore Baltimore 34, San Francisco 31

XLVII Paul Kruger LB Baltimore Baltimore 34, San Francisco 31

XLVII David Reed WR Baltimore Baltimore 34, San Francisco 31

XLVII Alex Smith QB San Francisco Baltimore 34, San Francisco 31

XLVIII Zane Beadles OG Denver Seattle 43, Denver 8

XLIX Sealver Siliga DT New England New England 28, Seattle 24 —

Super Bowl 50

P Carolina Panthers vs. Denver Broncos

Sunday, 4:30 p.m. MST

TV • Ch. 2