Four former WIAA football stars turned NFL athletes to compete in Super Bowl LX

From Friday night lights to Super Bowl Sunday.

With the Seattle Seahawks defeating the Los Angeles Rams, 31-27, on Sunday, Jan. 25, in the NFC Championship contest, and the New England Patriots defeating the Denver Broncos, 10-7, on the same day in the AFC Championship game — four former WIAA high school football stars have punched their tickets to the biggest professional football game of the year.

Cooper Kupp, a veteran wide receiver in his first season with the Seattle Seahawks, attended AC Davis High School and was a star pass catcher for the program prior to his graduation in 2012. Collegiately, Kupp stayed home and competed for Eastern Washington University from 2012 to 2016 — en route to a legendary career at the NCAA Division I FCS program in Cheney, Washington. As an Eagle, Kupp set multiple D1 FCS records, including 6,464 receiving yards, 428 receptions, 73 touchdowns, 124.3 yards per-game average and 1.4 touchdowns per-game average. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams with the 69th overall pick in the 2017 draft and had an illustrious career in LA — earning honors of Super Bowl LVI MVP, NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2021), first team All-Pro, Pro Bowl and more. The 2025-26 season marks Kupp’s first season as a Seahawk.

His teammate, Abraham Lucas, attended Archbishop Murphy High School in Everett and led his team to a 56-14 state championship victory over Liberty High School in the WIAA’s 2A state championship football game in 2016. His high school teammate, Kyler Gordon, a former University of Washington Husky and current defensive back for the Chicago Bears, lost in the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs to the Los Angeles Rams.

Following his high school run, Lucas committed to Washington State University and was a student-athlete for the Cougars from 2017 to 2021. As a Cougar, Lucas earned multiple honors for his performance on the offensive line, including first team All Pac-12 in 2021, and second team All Pac-12 from 2018 through 2020.

After declaring for the draft, following his first team All Pac-12 senior season with the Cougars, Lucas was drafted 72nd overall in the third round by the Seattle Seahawks in 2022. He recently signed a contract extension with the Seahawks worth three years and $46 million.

Two New England Patriots, by way of Washington state, will also be featured in the Super Bowl LX roster in the Sunday, Feb. 8 matchup.
Efton Chism III, a former Eastern Washington University Eagle like Kupp, was a graduate from Monroe High School in 2020. He committed to EWU on June 29, 2019, and officially enrolled on June 1, 2020.

As an Eagle, Chism followed the footsteps of Kupp and became one of the most productive wide receivers in school history. His accolades include AP All American team, All Big Sky first team, AFCA first team All American and more.

Chism was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Patriots on May 9, 2025, following the 2025 NFL Draft. After making New England’s 53-man roster, Chism would catch three passes for 75 yards during the regular season and one pass for 20 yards in the postseason.
His teammate in New England, Jack Westover, was a graduate from Mount Si High School in 2018 and eventually enrolled with the University of Washington. He’d later walk on as a tight end for the Huskies, despite the fact he didn’t play high school football until his senior year — playing just two games before breaking his collarbone.

Towards the end of his UW tenure, Westover found his role in the offense as a blocking and vertical threat tight end and was a critical piece in the Husky’s national championship runner-up season in 2023-24. As a Husky, he caught 87 passes for 849 yards and six touchdowns. He was elevated from the Patriots’ practice squad roster to the main 53-man roster on Jan. 4, 2025, and caught one pass during the regular season and one pass during the postseason.