The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial.
Long Beach Poly alum JuJu Smith-Schuster will play in his second Super Bowl next Sunday, as his Kansas City Chiefs try to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles. Smith-Schuster and the Chiefs defeated the Eagles two years ago for the Super Bowl, a game in which the former Jackrabbit had seven catches for 53 yards.
Long Beach Poly has produced more than 80 NFL alums, and remarkably, 14 of the 59 Super Bowls that have been played featured at least one Jackrabbit player, a whopping 23%. If the Chiefs win this year, it will be the ninth Super Bowl championship team to feature a Poly alum.
No one has won more NFL gold than Willie McGinest, the Poly legend who played in four Super Bowls and won three of them; Tony Hill played in two and won one. Manny Wright got a ring with the Giants in 2007 while Pago Togafu (Cardinals), Omar Stoutmire (Giants), and Winston Justice (Broncos) were all a part of Super Bowl losses.
More recently, Randall Goforth got a ring with the Eagles during their lone Super Bowl win (he was on IR at the time of the game) and DeSean Jackson got one with the Rams, although he was not on the field for them in that game. Antonio Pierce is not a Poly alum, but the former Poly football coach was also a member of the 2007 Super Bowl champion Giants.
Smith-Schuster in his eighth NFL season, and has 18 catches for 231 yards and two touchdowns this year. A Pro Bowler in 2018, Smith-Schuster has 448 career receptions and over 5,000 receiving yards, as well as 34 total touchdowns.
Smith-Schuster spent his first five years with the Steelers before winning a Super Bowl with the Chiefs two years ago. He spent last season with the Patriots before reuniting with the Chiefs in 2024.
