11 Independence Bowl Alumni Set to Play in AFC and NFC Championship Games

Von Miller at 2009 Independence Bowl vs. Georgia (Photo: Independence Bowl Archives)

SHREVEPORT, La. (Jan. 24, 2022) – The final four of the National Football League (NFL) playoffs is set, as the Cincinnati Bengals will face the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game and San Francisco 49ers will take on the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game, and the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl will be heavily represented in the two conference championship games.

Across the four rosters, a total of 11 former Independence Bowl players will compete to earn a spot in Super Bowl LVI. Four Independence Bowl alumni will take the field in Los Angeles, Calif. in the NFC Championship game, while seven alumni will be represented in the AFC Championship in Kansas City, Mo. The Chiefs themselves have five former Independence Bowl players on their roster. All three other teams have two Independence Bowl alumni on their rosters, while the 49ers also have two players (Tarvarius Moore and Justin Skule) on injured reserve or the physically-unable-to-perform list. Two Chiefs players (Chris Lammons and Joshua Kaindoh) have not appeared in the playoffs yet, but they have been designated to return from the injured reserve by the team.

There were 106 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl alumni to appear in an NFL game during the 2021-2022 season, and with multiple players on all four conference championship teams, the Independence Bowl is guaranteed to have at least four former players playing in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday, February 13. The 11 Independence Bowl alumni on NFL conference championship rosters are as follows:

Cincinnati Bengals

• B.J. Hill – DT (NC State, 2016)
• Auden Tate – WR (Florida State, 2017)

Kansas City Chiefs

• L’Jarius Sneed – CB (Louisiana Tech, 2019)
• Chris Lammons – DB (South Carolina, 2014)
• Noah Gray – TE (Duke, 2018)
• Joshua Kaindoh – DE (Florida State, 2017)
• Derrick Nnadi – DT (Florida State, 2017)

San Francisco 49ers

• Kentavius Street – DE (NC State, 2016)
• Trent Sherfield – WR (Vanderbilt, 2016)

Los Angeles Rams

• Cam Akers – RB (Florida State, 2017)
• Von Miller – Edge (Texas A&M, 2009)

ABOUT THE RADIANCE TECHNOLOGIES INDEPENDENCE BOWL™:

Established in 1976, the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl™ is the nation’s 11th-oldest bowl game. The UAB Blazers defeated the No. 13 BYU Cougars 31-28 in the 45th Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl on Satrurday, December 18, 2021. The Independence Bowl Foundation announced a one-year extension with Radiance Technologies – ensuring they will be the title sponsor through 2025. The bowl’s conference and team agreements, as well as the television agreement, also run through the 2025 season. Army West Point and BYU are slated to matchup against a rotation of the Pac-12 Conference, American Athletic Conference and Conference USA, which will be televised on an ESPN network.

The Independence Bowl Foundation is prevalent in the Shreveport-Bossier City area throughout the year, hosting events to help enhance the economic impact and growth of our community. The Mission of the Independence Bowl is to attract and provide quality, nationally recognized football competition oriented to the Ark-La-Tex region. For more information, visit RadianceTechnologiesIndependenceBowl.com or follow the bowl on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @IndyBowl.