Photo by David Silverman, New England Patriots photographer
Another year, another Jackrabbit going to the Super Bowl.
Long Beach Poly alum Alex Austin will play in Super Bowl LX in two weeks in Santa Clara after making it to the country’s biggest sporting event as a member of the New England Patriots. Poly has been the biggest producer of NFL talent for more than a century, with more than 80 alums having made it to the pros.
Remarkably, 15 of the 60 Super Bowls (25%) have featured a Jackrabbit alum. Most recently JuJu Smith-Schuster played in two Super Bowl with the Chiefs, including a loss last year and a win prior to that. If the Patriots pull off the win, it would be the ninth Super Bowl championship team to feature a Poly alum.
Most recently Smith-Schuster had seven catches for 53 yards in the Chiefs’ win over the Eagles three years ago. Patriots legend Willie McGinest 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.
Austin was a Moore League Player of the Year for Poly before heading to Oregon State, where he left early to declare for the NFL Draft. He was drafted by the Bills in the seventh round but released and claimed off waivers by the Texans, who assigned him to the practice squad. The Patriots signed him from there in 2023, and he’s now in his third season in New England.
Austin comes from Long Beach football royalty. His father Al Austin was a Long Beach City Councilmember and his mother, Daysha, is involved in state politics but also a longtime leader with the Long Beach Patriots youth football organization. Alex’s younger brother Daylen has been playing at Oregon and recently announced a transfer to Arizona for the upcoming NCAA season.
Austin has played in 12 games for the Patriots this season, starting a pair; he has 25 tackles and one interception.
Long Beach Poly remains the country’s biggest producer of pro athletes, with more than 100 NFL, MLB, and NBA products–more than 20 higher than any other high school according to MaxPreps. The Jackrabbits have also had plenty of champions, with that long litany of Super Bowl winners, and recent NBA champions Peyton Watson (Nuggets) and Jordan Bell (Warriors). Chase Utley was the top vote-getter to not be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this year, but is gaining traction to earn that honor next year, which would make him the second Poly alum in Cooperstown alongside all-time great Tony Gwynn.
In addition, while the history of women’s pro sports has less continuity, Poly has been a trailblazer there with all-time great Billie Jean King, as well as recent WNBA player Arica Carter.
