Julian Edelman has provided College of San Mateo with its 17th Super Bowl Ring, following a tradition begun by John Madden and Bill Walsh. Edelman, the CSM quarterback in 2005, caught the winning TD pass from Tom Brady with two minutes left as New England overcame a Super Bowl record ten-point fourth quarter deficit Sunday for a 28-24 victory.

It was the all-San Mateo QB combination of Brady to Edelman that made the offensive difference – with Edelman playing everything but quarterback. He accounted for 143 yards on 13 plays. He was the game’s leading receiver, with nine receptions (for 109 yards), and top punt returner, with 27 yards on three returns. He carried the ball once for seven yards. He also had a solo tackle. Edelman’s crucial receptions set up earlier New England touchdowns. He helped Brady set a Super Bowl record of 37 pass completions – the last being the winning TD.

It was a fitting oddity that two guys who played quarterback in the same city – Brady at Serra High School and Edelman a mile up the hill at College of San Mateo – both started and starred in a Super Bowl victory. Brady, whose career-long personal coach was the late CSM football coach Tom Martinez, has likely  spent more time on the CSM football field than Edelman.

Edelman is from Redwood City and led Woodside High to a Central Coast Section title before coming to CSM and pacing the Bulldogs to an 8-3 season — passing for 1,312 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushing for 17 touchdowns and a CSM record 1,253 yards.

John Madden and Bill Walsh were the first former CSM players to win Super Bowl rings — both as head coaches, with the Raiders and the 49ers.  The other former CSM players and coaches were Neal Dahlen (who has a record seven rings), Dick Vermeil, Steve Shafer, Bill Ring, and Mike Solari. (See chart below.)

8 former College of San Mateo players / coaches with 17 Super Bowl rings:

Total rings: 17 (number and years noted in parentheses above)