Josh Sweat arrived at Florida State in January 2015, just four months after a major knee injury. He continued his rehab and stunned many around the program when he took part in practice on Day 1 in August.
Sweat was determined not to redshirt. He turned in a special freshman season, recording 41 tackles and picking up a few sacks. It was the beginning of quite the comeback in a three-year FSU career for Sweat, who was a five-star prospect coming out of high school.
Now in his seventh NFL season, Sweat enjoyed a career-defining night as the defensive end had six tackles and 2.5 sacks in the Philadelphia Eagles' 40-22 victory in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was named Super Bowl MVP. Sweat was among the Eagles under consideration.
Sweat's backstory is one that FSU fans remember well, but some of the details are worth revisiting. He tore the ACL and dislocated his left knee in Sept. 2014, his senior season. Sweat was rushed to the hospital, with doctors needing time to evaluate the severity of the injury.
“Some people don’t know that if I damaged the arteries then I could have lost the bottom of my leg,” Sweat told the Osceola and other news outlets at FSU's preseason media day in Aug. 2016. “My leg was dislocated. It wasn’t like a torn ACL. It was bent at a 45-degree angle.”
Sweat estimates it was two "really scary" hours before learning the artery damage was not severe. A month later, Sweat had knee surgery and began rehabilitation. He continued it in January 2015 when he arrived at FSU as an early enrollee.
While Sweat never had a burst off the line of scrimmage and always wore a knee brace, he had 138 tackles and 14.5 sacks in his career.
He was selected in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft by Philadelphia and has recorded 252 tackles, 57 tackles for loss and 45.5 sacks in his seven seasons in the league (year-by-year stats). Sweat made his second Super Bowl appearance in three seasons after also helping the Eagles reach Super Bowl LVII.
Sweat and wide receiver Johnny Wilson each earned Super Bowl rings on Sunday night. Landon Dickerson, an FSU graduate who wrapped up his career at Alabama, also started on the Eagles' offensive line.
Defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi played for the Chiefs. Fabien Lovett is on the practice squad.
A Seminole has played in the Super Bowl for 13 straight seasons. This is the ninth straight year at least one Seminole was on the winning team.
FSU is one eight college programs with multiple Super Bowl MVPs. Pro Football Hall of Famer Fred Biletnikoff was named MVP of Super Bowl XI after making four catches for 79 yards in Oakland’s 32-14 win over Minnesota. Dexter Jackson was the Super Bowl XXXVII MVP after grabbing two interceptions in Tampa Bay’s 48-21 win over Oakland.
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