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KANSAS CITY, MO - AUGUST 27: Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Lucas Niang (67) and Trey Smith (65) on the sidelines during an NFL preseason game between the Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs on Aug 27, 2021 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl, Kansas City Chiefs' Lucas Niang received a surprise from members of his hometown New Canaan, Conn.
Friends, family members and former teammates of Niang, a 2016 graduate of New Canaan High School, sent personal video messages on Saturday expressing pride for the offensive lineman and wishing him luck on his matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
"We could not be more proud," his mother Fatou Ba Soumahoro Niang said in the video.
At New Canaan High School, Niang led the Rams to three straight state championships and was ranked the No. 3 player in the state in the 2016 recruiting class, according to 247Sports.com.
In an interview with Fox61News on Saturday, Niang shouted out the New Canaan football coaches who helped shape his career, such as Lou Marinelli, New Canaan High School football head coach, and Jason Miska, the high school's football's offensive linebackers coach. He also mentioned his trainer, Brett Yarris, the chief executive officer of The (BX) Movement in New Canaan.
Niang beamed while watching the video, which included messages from Rose Bonura, owner of the popular New Canaan restaurant, Rosie; Mike Cognetta, a NCHS football alumnus; Thomas Brown, a supervisory aide to the physical education department at NCHS; Chris Silvestri, NCHS football's associate head coach; and current members of the NCHS football team, who wished him best of luck. The video also featured friends and coaches from his alma mater Texas Christian University.
"That was awesome to see," Niang said afterwards. "When you’re working every day, you think it’s just about you putting your head down and grinding, but things like this make you realize it’s bigger than me and I got a lotta people supporting me."
The 6-foot-6, 315-pound offensive lineman was drafted by Kansas City in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. In 2020, the third-rounder opted out of the NFL season due to COVID-19 concerns. In the 2022 season, Niang's second with the Chiefs, he played seven regular season and two postseason games.
Niang has maintained an active presence in his Connecticut hometown. In 2020, New Canaan community members celebrated Niang's draft to Kansas City with a drive-by parade on his parents' street.
That same year, Niang helped organize a rally in the town supporting George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter Movement.
Another Connecticut native playing in today's Super Bowl is Jack Driscoll, Eagles offensive lineman and alumnus of Daniel Hand High School in Madison. Other Connecticut Super Bowl connections include Winsted native Mackenzie Andrews-Griswold, who is set to make history as a team member of the first all-female U.S. Navy flyover at the end of the national anthem.