Sprayberry guaranteed a Super Bowl champion

Feb. 10—While many will watch Sunday's Super Bowl with the hopes of watching Kansas City and Philadelphia play a good game, or seeing some of the best commercials of the year, that won't be the case for one part of Cobb County.

Those in the Sprayberry High School community are in a win-win situation because they know one of their own is going to come out of the game with a championship ring.

The question still to be answered is, will it be Chiefs running back Jerick McKinnon or Eagles running back Trey Sermon?

Sprayberry coach Brett Vavra said there has been a lot of conversation in the halls, especially among the faculty and staff who were on campus the same time McKinnon, a 2010 graduate, and Sermon, a 2017 alum, were in school.

"We on the coaching staff have certainly been talking about them," Vavra said.

As a junior, McKinnon helped Sprayberry win its last region title in 2008. The following year, he was a first-team all-state selection at quarterback and then had a decorated career a Georgia Southern, playing a variety of positions.

In 2014, McKinnon was drafted in the third round by the Minnesota Vikings and had a chance to learn from All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson.

After signing a big contract with the San Francisco 49ers prior to the 2018 season, McKinnon tore his ACL and missed all of the 2018 and 2019 seasons. He returned in 2020, but he was released following the season.

That led McKinnon to signing with the Chiefs, where he has not only rejuvenated his career, but become a safety blanket of sorts for quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

This year, McKinnon has rushed for 291 yards and a touchdown, but his biggest contribution has come from being a pass-catcher out of the backfield. He has caught 56 passes for 519 yards and nine touchdowns, with the majority of his production coming in the last seven games of the regular season and the playoffs.

Vavra said it has looked like vintage McKinnon, who he remembers from his time as an assistant at Sprayberry under then-coach Billy Shackelford.

"I always knew what kind of athlete he was," Vavra said. "He was always explosive, which is why we had to have the ball in his hands every single play. He can do all kinds of things, and that's what I expected."

However, as McKinnon was coming out of Georgia Southern, Vavra said he did not know if he would get to see McKinnon produce at the next level.

"I didn't know what to expect," Vavra said. "I knew, if someone gave him a chance, he had a chance to be special."

Sermon was second-team all-state in 2016. Injuries, including a broken bone in his back had slowed him down, but he still showed college recruiters enough to allow him to earn a scholarship to Oklahoma.

After running for more than 2,000 yards over his first three season with the Sooners, he transferred to Ohio State, where he teamed with Harrison alum Justin Fields in the Buckeyes' backfield.

Sermon found his stride in the second half of the 2020 season and helped lead Ohio State into the College Football Playoff with a Big Ten Conference single-game record of 331 yards on 29 carries in the conference championship game against Northwestern.

Sermon may go down as the answer to one of the more interesting trivia questions in recent college football history as he is the only running back to take handoffs from four Heisman Trophy-finalist quarterbacks during his college career — Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts at Oklahoma, and then Fields at Ohio State.

Sermon was drafted in the third round by the 49ers in 2021, which, coincidentally, may have led to McKinnon's departure that offseason.

However, injuries again have slowed Sermon in his NFL career. A concussion his rookie year allowed him to play only nine games, and San Francisco released him after the season. He was signed by Philadelphia before the 2022 season and has appeared in only two games, carrying the ball twice for 19 yards.

Vavra, who returned to his alma mater as head coach following the 2016 season, just missed the opportunity to coach Sermon at Sprayberry, but he has followed his career and always enjoys when both players return to campus.

Vavra said McKinnon came in during the 2022 season, talking to the team and bringing a signed jersey that is now hanging in the team's fieldhouse.

Vavra said McKinnon and Sermon are figures his current players can look up to.

"Jerick is really playing well," Vavra said. "At his age (30), he's really reignited his career. Trey is just getting started in his career, and I think he'll have a lot of good years ahead of him."

Vavra said there does not seem to be a consensus whether one player is garnering more support than the other within Sprayberry's halls, but he expects the game to be a close one Sunday night in Glendale, Arizona.

"I'm really looking forward to it," Vavra said. "It's going to be a good ballgame, but I think the Chiefs will pull it out in the end."

Whether Vavra is right or wrong, it does not matter. Sprayberry is a winner either way.