Terry Killens is the former Penn State defender who reached the height of his NFL playing career when his Titans made the Super Bowl a quarter-century ago.
And now Killens will be making a return to the Super Bowl, but this time as a guy wearing black-and-white stripes. He’ll have a yellow flag and will be ready to throw it any time he sees an illegal block committed by the Chiefs or 49ers.
ESPN reported that the 49-year-old Killens will be the first person to play in a Super Bowl and then officiate in one.
Highest-ranked officials during regular season work Super Bowl
The NFL chooses its best officials to call a Super Bowl game. The highest-rated official at each of the eight positions in the crew gets to call the biggest game of the year. However, there are caveats. An official needs at least five years of experience in the NFL. And an official must’ve worked at least one playoff game. There’s no room for inexperience with roughly 100 million people watching the game.
Killens, who just finished his fifth regular season, will work as the umpire. You can spot him positioned behind the defensive line and a layer of linebackers. His job is to look for holds or other assorted illegal blocks.
He enjoyed a nice career in the NFL. First, he starred at Penn State and he earned second-team All Big Ten as a defensive end back in 1995. The Houston Oilers selected Killens in third round of the 1996 NFL Draft. The Oilers evolved into the Tennessee Titans. And the Titans made it to the Super Bowl after the 1999 season, facing the St. Louis Rams at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome, Jan. 30, 2000. Killens was a reserve linebacker for the game, which ended in dramatic fashion. The Titans erased what had been a 16-point Rams lead. But St. Louis went back ahead, then held on for the win thanks to a tackle by linebacker Mike Jones. He caught Titans receiver Kevin Dyson one-yard short of a touchdown on the game’s final play.
In all, Killens played seven seasons in the NFL. He also did stints with the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. He began his officiating career in 2013.
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