Texas Tech Fans Are Used To Seeing Danny Amendola Come Up Big

Sunday’s Super Bowl LI is already being hailed by most as the greatest of all-time. Texas Tech football alum Danny Amendola played a key role in the New England Patriots’ victory embodying the motto of his alma mater and proving that he is a “Fearless Champion”.

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The Texas Tech school song, “The Matador Song” features the signature line, “Fearless champions ever be, stand on heights of victory”. In Super Bowl LI, over 111 million people watched one of the most popular Red Raiders in recent memory become a world champion for the second time in his career.

New England Patriots’ receiver Danny Amendola caught eight passes for 78 yards and a touchdown in the 34-28 overtime win. Most importantly, the former Texas Tech standout was the target on the Patriots’ successful 2-point-conversion that tied the game at 28-28 with under a minute to play.

Coming off a disappointing season during which he missed four games and caught only 23 passes (second fewest in his career), Amendola was at his best when his team needed him most. Six of Amendola’s catches came after halftime during the Patriots’ historic comeback.

But, this was not the first time Amendola was an integral part of a New England Super Bowl rally. In Super Bowl XLIX, Amendola caught a touchdown pass to bring his team to within three points of the Seattle Seahawks with just under eight minutes left. The Patriots would go on to win that game on a last-second interception at the goal line by corner back Malcolm Butler.

To see the former Texas Tech fan-favorite reach the pinnacle of the NFL is especially satisfying for Red Raiders. The undersized player has come to represent the overachieving nature that has defined Texas Tech football for decades.

A three-star recruit out of The Woodlands (TX) High School, Danny Amendola left Lubbock as one of the best slot receivers in program history. He caught 204 passes for 2,246 yards and 15 touchdowns as a Red Raider. Furthermore, he averaged 11.1 yards per punt return.

But despite his collegiate production, success in the NFL did not come easy for Amendola.

He failed to make the 2008 Dallas Cowboys’ roster. After spending that season on the practice squad, he suffered the same fate with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009.

Fortunately, Amendola finally got a shot later that season when the St. Louis Rams signed him to the active roster. By 2010, he was the NFL leader in all-purpose yards with 2,364 and he appeared to be on the fast track to stardom.

However, hard times were on the horizon. Despite being one of the smaller players in the NFL, Amendola has never been one to shy away from contact.

This trait has led to numerous injuries. He missed 15 games in 2011 with an arm injury. The next season, Amendola suffered a clavicle injury that could have been fatal. He has also missed time due to a sprained knee and a high ankle sprain.

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Still, throughout his college and professional career Amendola has been a go-to player in critical moments. While at Texas Tech, Amendola made numerous game-changing plays.

In 2004, Tech trailed in-state rival TCU 21-7 late in the first half of a game it originally trailed 21-0. Amendola returned a TCU punt 53 yards to the Horned Frogs’ 3-yard-line setting up a Texas Tech touchdown. This play flipped the momentum in Texas Tech favor as the team ran off 56-consecutive points en route to a 70-35 win.

The next year, he recovered a fumble from a Nebraska defender who had intercepted a last-minute pass appearing to have sealed the win for the Cornhuskers. Texas Tech would score on the following possession to triumph in dramatic fashion.

Later in 2005, he caught a tipped fourth-down pass to keep alive the Red Raiders’ game-winning drive in the team’s upset of Oklahoma.

Over a decade later, Amendola has become one of New England’s most clutch players. Patriot’s quarterback Tom Brady has repeatedly turned to the Texas Tech alum with the game on the line and the Red Raider great has delivered.

Danny Amendola always delivered in the clutch for Texas Tech. And just as he has done throughout his career, he delivered in the biggest moments of Super Bowl LI.

Red Raider fans were not surprised to see Amendola once again make critical plays on the game’s biggest stage. That seems to be all we’ve ever known him for.

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