NFL legend Doug Williams emotional over Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts making Super Bowl history (Exclusive)
One quarterback who knows about making history is NFL legend Doug Williams, who was the first black quarterback to ever start in a Super Bowl.
Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts will be making history in Super Bowl LVII as the first two black quarterbacks to face one another in the game. In an interview with The Ballfather podcast, Williams spoke of the significance of the matchup between Mahomes and Hurts, while getting emotional in the process.
Williams said:
"It kind of hit me from the time I was playing the Super Bowl and then I thought about the guy that came before me. And here we are, we got two black quarterbacks playing the Super Bowl and the first thing I thought about was the first time I played in it, you know, got a chance to play, show the world that it can be done.
"But I thought about Marlin Briscoe, to James Harris, and Joe Gilliam, those guys who didn't get those opportunities. But to see these two young guys on Sunday man, kind of made my heart warm. I know, I got a little emotional, a little but didn't cry, but I had water in my eye, just sitting there and saying to myself, this has really happened. "
Doug Williams added:
"You know, I thought about Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith. I thought about my feat. I thought about Russell Wilson and Steve McNair, so many things went through my mind, man, to know that in 100 years of this league, 30 to 35 years, we found a guy, a black quarterback, to get that dude when if they had been playing a long time ago, you know he probably would have had to do a long time ago, but we gotta be grateful for that. You know that is a bittersweet situation, to be honest with you."
Doug Williams also became the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl and be named Super Bowl MVP. He threw for 340 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception, leading the Washington Commanders to a 42 - 10 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII.
Doug Williams on the Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts matchup in Super Bowl LVII
The former NFL great also emphasized that both Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts are capable of playing at the highest level. In the same interview with The Ballfather podcast, Doug Williams noted that Mahomes and Hurts have similar skill sets. He also stated that both young stars can play the quarterback position as others have in previous Super Bowls.
Williams said:
"Because we're saying here we're talking about those two young guys who deserve everything that happened to them on Sunday. You can't argue the fact that one can't do what the other can't do. They can do anything that a quarterback that has played in the Super Bowl over the last 57 years can do."
Without question, Mahomes and Hurts are standing on the shoulders of Doug Williams, who changed the narrative of black quarterbacks in the Super Bowl.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit The Ballfather podcast and H/T Sportskeeda.