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Former FCS players are in the Super Bowl

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady celebrates with fullback James Develin (46) after a touchdown by running back LeGarrette Blount (not pictured) in the second quarter against the Detroit Lions at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on November 23, 2014. The Patriots defeated the Lions 34-9. UPI/Matthew Healey
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady celebrates with fullback James Develin (46) after a touchdown by running back LeGarrette Blount (not pictured) in the second quarter against the Detroit Lions at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on November 23, 2014. The Patriots defeated the Lions 34-9. UPI/Matthew Healey | License Photo

James Develin scored a touchdown in Sunday's AFC Championship Game. Next up for some former FCS players is the chance to be a standout in Super Bowl XLIX on Feb. 1 at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Develin and the New England Patriots will face the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.

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Develin played defensive end at Brown, but the third-year NFL player is now the starting fullback for the Patriots. He caught a 1-yard touchdown in Sunday's win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Left guard Dan Connolly, in his ninth NFL season out of Southeast Missouri State, also is a Patriots starter.

In addition, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (Eastern Illinois, rookie), who won the 2013 Walter Payton Award as the outstanding player in the FCS, wide receiver Brian Tyms (Florida A&M, second) and cornerback Kyle Arrington (Hofstra, seventh) are backups for the Patriots, while rookie cornerback Dax Swanson out of Sam Houston State is on the practice squad.

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The Seahawks advanced Sunday with a win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game.

Former FCS players on the Seahawks' roster include quarterback Tavaris Jackson, who is in his ninth NFL season out of Alabama State; wide receiver/returner Bryan Walters (Cornell, fifth); linebacker Brock Coyle (Montana, rookie); and cornerbacks Marcus Burley (Delaware, second), Jeremy Lane (Northwestern State, third) and DeShawn Shead (Portland State, third).

Tight end RaShaun Allen (Southern) and center Nate Isles (North Carolina A&T), both rookies, are on the practice squad, while another first-year player, Demitrius Bronson (Eastern Washington), is an injured practice squad player.

Jackson, Walters, Lane and Shead were members of the Seahawks' world championship team a year ago.

[SportsNetwork.com]

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