PUEBLO, Colo. (Feb. 5, 2021) – Two former members of the Colorado State University Pueblo football program will go head-to-head Sunday on the grandest stage football has to offer, as Ryan Jensen of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Mike Pennel of the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs will meet at Super Bowl LV.
 
"What a special day for CSU Pueblo Football and for Mike Pennel and Ryan Jensen to go fulfill their dreams," said CSU Pueblo Head Football Coach John Wristen. "It's quite unique they will probably be blocking against each other 10-15 plays in the game. I think that is going to be an outstanding competition. I'm going to enjoy every moment and be like a proud papa watching that."
 
The two will likely lineup across from each other on multiple occasions during the game, as Jensen (2009-12) is in his third year as the Tampa Bay center and Pennel (2013) wraps up his second season on the interior of KC's defensive line. Although, the two were never teammates, as Jensen finished his career in 2012 and Pennel spent his one season with the ThunderWolves in 2013, the two have the common bond of representing the Pack in the NFL. 
 
Jensen, a Fort Morgan, Colo. native, was a two-time All-American for the ThunderWolves and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2013. He helped lay the foundation for the program, which restarted in 2008 and won the NCAA Division II National Championship is 2014. Pennel, an Aurora, Colo. native, was an All-American selection in his lone season with the ThunderWolves.
 
Jensen has started all 19 games on the offensive line this season. He is in his eighth overall season and his third as the starting center for the Buccaneers. 
 
Pennel enters the game with 30 tackles in 16 games. He became the first former member of the CSU Pueblo football program to win a Super Bowl, as he was with the Chiefs last year. Pennel is in his seventh NFL season and second with Kansas City.
 
Super Bowl LV will be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, the home field of Jensen's Buccaneers. This year's big game will mark the third straight year the ThunderWolves will have a former player on a roster of a Super Bowl team. Former defensive end Morgan Fox (2012-15) was on the roster of the Los Angeles Rams in 2019, but he was on the injury reserve all season and did not dress for the Super Bowl. 
 
 
This year, four former players were on NFL rosters, as Deyon Sizer (2014-18) spent the season on the practice squad of the Denver Broncos.
 
-- PACK --