Spaeth, Russell finally get to play in ultimate bowl

Matt Spaeth and Gary Russell were new to the NFL when the Steelers reported to Latrobe, Pa., for the first training camp of the Mike Tomlin era.

It was 2007 and Spaeth was, at best, the team's third tight end. Russell was, at best, a Hail Mary shot to survive beyond the third preseason game.

They were two ex-Gophers holed up together, hoping for the best, hoping to carve out a role on a team that had won Super Bowl XL only 18 months earlier.

"Gary and I had a history together, and any time you're in a new situation like that and you don't know a lot of people, you cling to those you know," Spaeth said. "Our friendship kind of grew from there. We're pretty close."

Spaeth, a third-round draft pick, went on to show the kind of size (6-7, 270) and athleticism that once enabled him to grab a school-record 23 rebounds as a basketball player at St. Michael-Albertville High School. Gary, an undrafted free agent, was a bigger surprise, recapturing the power and quickness he had when he ran for 1,130 yards, 18 touchdowns and a 6.1-yard average per carry as a Gopher in 2005.

"There aren't many people who thought Gary would make it in the NFL," Spaeth said.

For good reason, too.

Russell flunked out of school and then sat out the 2006 season. He got fat. Then he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. He was done, or so it was assumed.

"The 40 is kind of important, I guess, but I think it's way overrated," Spaeth said. "A guy like Gary is a football player. He is not going to impress anybody running a 40-yard dash."

Russell showed up in Latrobe determined and in shape. Heads began to turn.

"I had some of the veterans come up to me and say, 'This Russell kid looks pretty good,'" Spaeth said. "I said, 'Just wait until we start tackling in the preseason games. He's so wide and strong, people can't bring him down.'"

Russell ran like Jerome Bettis during the preseason. He made the team. So did Spaeth, who eventually took over as Heath Miller's primary backup after veteran Jerame Tuman was injured. Tuman now plays for the Cardinals.

A week from Sunday, Spaeth and Russell will suit up for Super Bowl XLIII when the AFC champion Steelers play those NFC champion Cardinals in Tampa, Fla.

"We've talked to Tyrone [Carter, another former Gopher] about what it's like going to the Super Bowl," said Spaeth, the 2006 John Mackey Award winner as college football's best tight end. "But I don't think it will hit us until we get down there."

Carter finished his Gophers career in 1999 and was a fourth-round draft pick of the Vikings in 2000. He joined the Steelers as a free agent in 2004 and was a member of the Super Bowl XL championship team. Believe it or not, T.C. is now 32 and in his ninth NFL season.

Spaeth, Carter and Russell are backups and special teams players, but they also fill important roles. Russell is the team's primary kickoff returner, averaging 23.2 yards during the regular season and 19.5 in the postseason.

One of Russell's four rushing touchdowns this season came in the postseason. And one of Carter's four interceptions came in Sunday's AFC Championship Game victory over Baltimore.

Now three guys who never played in a January bowl game as Gophers will play in a pretty big one in February.

"I don't know that it's fully sunk in yet that we're actually going to play in the Super Bowl," Spaeth said. "After we beat Baltimore, it felt kind of like a regular game at first. But the trophy presentation was surreal."

Spaeth celebrated Sunday night's victory with six family members who made the trip to Heinz Field. Four of them, including his father, Ken, were in from St. Michael.

"And I got tons of text messages and voice mails from people in Minnesota," Spaeth said. "I didn't have time to respond to them [Sunday night]. I'm doing that right now [Monday]. Each time I do, I say to myself, 'I really am going to the Super Bowl.'"

Mark Craig • mcraig@startribune.com