The college football roots that built the Seahawks’ Super Bowl defense

The defense that overwhelmed quarterback Drake Maye in San Francisco to deliver the Seahawks a Super Bowl win did not begin in Seattle. Every impact defender on the field has a college football origin story, whether they were a Power Four recruit or a Group of Six evaluation win.

And what began with recruiting visits and evaluation transitioned into development in college weight rooms and practice fields. The Seattle Seahawks dismantled the New England Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX on Sunday night. The Seahawks defense — nicknamed the “Dark Side” to distinguish it from the “Legion of Boom” era — suffocated Maye and the Patriots’ offensive line. The Patriots had just 78 yards of total offense through the end of the third quarter.

The young talent Seattle has added to its defense through the NFL draft the last three years showed up Sunday night, and closed the door on any hope for a Patriots comeback. With New England facing a 3rd-and-6 from its 44-yard line, former Auburn EDGE Derick Hall broke free and sacked Maye, forcing a fumble.

Former Texas defensive lineman and four-star recruit Byron Murphy II jumped on the ball at the Patriots’ 37-yard line. Seattle scored a touchdown five plays later. Hall, a former top-175 recruit in the 2019 cycle, was drafted in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft and finished with two sacks in the win. Murphy added two sacks as well.

Seahawks head coach and defensive playcaller Mike Macdonald leaned into a four-man front to cause disruption. Macdonald’s defensive line rotation featured Murphy, Hall, former Boise State standout DeMarcus Lawrence, USC All-American defensive lineman Leonard Williams and USC EDGE Uchenna Nwosu.

One of the team mottos of Macdonald’s Seahawks is “loose and focused.” Former Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon went unranked coming out of high school, but he’s a former first-round selection and has become the cornerstone of the Seattle defense.

Leading 22-7 midway through the fourth quarter Sunday, Seattle’s defense delivered the final blow to New England. Witherspoon blew through the line of scrimmage, knocking back Maye, who attempted to throw it away but was deflected at the line and intercepted by Nwosu, who returned it 45 yards for a touchdown, putting the game out of reach. Witherspoon finished with four tackles and three QB hits.

Witherspoon wasn’t the only major contributor in the secondary for the Seahawks. Former Alabama cornerback Josh Jobe was the No. 107 recruit in the 2018 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking. He went undrafted out of Alabama and was signed as a free agent by the Eagles before later joining the Seahawks in August 2024. In the Super Bowl win Sunday night, he finished with seven tackles, including a tackle for loss and a pass deflection.

Former South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori has emerged as a star in his rookie season for the Seahawks. The former four-star recruit dealt with an ankle injury in practice this past week but bounced back to finish Sunday with five tackles.

“You talk about a group of guys who battle every day, who believe in each other, believe in their coach,” Witherspoon told NBC after the Super Bowl. “I mean, you can’t describe this group no better. It’s just a one-of-a-kind feeling.”