By Erin Bruce, Amirah Curry and Jonah Decker – The Statehouse File
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks compete in Super Bowl LX on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Although they may be a long way from Indiana, four players and one coach have collegiate connections to the state. TheStatehouseFile.com spoke with these world champion hopefuls last week during Super Bowl LX Opening Night to learn how their time in Indiana impacted them.
Purdue’s Kirk Olivadotti
In 23 years coaching in the NFL and time playing as a wide receiver at Purdue University, Kirk Olivadotti, the inside linebackers coach for the Seattle Seahawks, has never been to “the big game” until now. Despite the stakes, he is completely unflappable.
“It’s really like preparing for any other game. You do everything normal,” Kirk said. “Just gotta go through the process, keep it the same.”
His stoic nature has been a constant force within the Seahawks organization since he was hired in 2024.
“He’s someone I look up to tremendously. He’s a great football mind,” said Mike Macdonald, head coach for the Seahawks. “He has poise and grace and strength. It’s something I’ve always respected, and we love him.”
Kirk was born in Wilmington, Delaware, son of NCAA and NFL coach Tom Olivadotti. Kirk spent most of his childhood in Miami, where his dad coached the Dolphins, before starting at Purdue in 1992.
“As a student athlete, I had to figure out how to manage my time correctly, fighting through some seasons that weren’t great,” said Kirk. “Just the adversity and the process of going through that was something I learned.”
People noticed the hard work and dedication, especially his teammates.
“He was definitely a student of the game,” Willie Tillman, wide receiver at Purdue from 1994 to1997 and a teammate of Kirk’s, told TSF. “He was a leader in the room and led by example. If you had a question, you could always go to KO.”
IU’s A.J. Barner
When A.J. Barner reflects on his season, he calls the Seattle Seahawks’ NFC Championship win the highlight—so far.
“Hopefully, we’ll get to relive it to another level this weekend,” Barner said Monday at Super Bowl LX Opening Night.
Before the tight end for the Super Bowl-bound Seahawks was selected by Seattle in the 2024 NFL Draft, Barner was a member of the championship team at the University of Michigan. Before that, he spent three years at Indiana University, where he was a team captain.
“I had a great time there, made a lot of great friends and grew as a player,” Barner said.
During the Aurora, Ohio, native’s rookie NFL season, Seattle missed the playoffs, finishing with a record of 10-7. Barner said the team this year has more “continuity.”
“We play for one another, we play hard,” he said. “We just want to win. It doesn’t matter how we do it, we just want to win”.
Tight ends coach Mack Brown called Barner a “prototype tight end,” emphasizing his physicality.
“He does everything and anything you ask of him,” Brown said.
His favorite moment from the season was a Barner catch that led to Seattle tying the game against the Rams on Thursday Night Football, but he just enjoys working with him every day.
“When you talk about A.J., you’ve got to start with the person,” he said. “And he’s such a good person.”
IU’s Kobee Minor
Kobee Minor, defensive back for the New England Patriots, was Mr. Irrelevant of the 2025 NFL Draft, making him the 50th honoree of Irrelevant Week.
“When I got drafted, I’ve been an underdog,” Minor told The Statehouse File at Opening Night.
“That ain’t nothing new to me really—just work, that’s all I do.”
Minor started his collegiate football career at Texas Tech University, where he spent three years, redshirting his freshman year and concluding his sophomore year in 2022. He then transferred to Indiana University in spring 2023.
During his junior year at IU, he appeared in 11 games, starting in nine, and earning honorable mention All-Big Ten.
Minor’s cornerback coach with the Patriots, Justin Hamilton—previously assistant cornerback coach for the Indianapolis Colts—talked about Minor’s impact on the team.
“He’s super competitive. He’s gritty, and he really has no fear,” he said. “He just consistently, day-to-day … needs to continue to learn what it means to prepare as a pro because if he’ll do that, he’s got a shot to be an impact player.”
Notre Dame’s Julian Love
Former Notre Dame player, now Super Bowl-bound, is lauded for his leadership
Julian Love, a safety with the Seattle Seahawks, has been a defensive weapon for the NFL team. Prior to his professional career, he was a high performer at the University of Notre Dame and one of three finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the top defensive back in college football.
In high school, Love was rated a three-star recruit and during his senior year was named the 2015 Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year.
A Chicago native, Love grew up a Walter Payton fan and a Notre Dame fan.
“I loved my time there,” Love told TSF Monday at Super Bowl LX Opening Night. Shortly into his freshman year in 2016, he became a starter, and he stayed a defensive staple throughout his career. At Notre Dame, he became the career leader in pass breakups, a title he still holds.
Love talked about how practicing in the warm San Jose February would be unimaginable in South Bend.
“I had this really good cast of characters as teammates. We still talk to this day,” he said.
Love was drafted in 2019 by the New York Giants and acquired by the Seahawks in free agency in 2023.
Jeff Howard, safeties coach for the Seahawks, said that in spite of Love’s hamstring injury earlier in the season, he remained a leader for the team.
“He may not be on the field at that point in that moment, but he’s still with them in spirit,” he said.
“He’s a team guy. He’s a leader, you know, not only on defense, but he’s also a leader across the board. There’s a lot to be said about that”.
Notre Dame’s Rylie Mills
Former Notre Dame All-American Rylie Mills, defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks, is suiting up for the Super Bowl, his second championship in just over a year.
Before his rookie NFL season, he played in the College Football Playoff National Championship with the Irish.
“It’s a dream come true,” Mills said at Super Bowl LX Opening Night on Monday. “I’ve always dreamed of this point, and I think last year, going to the national championship, and now being here—it’s been a crazy year.”
Back-to-back chances to be crowned a champion haven’t been as glamorous as it sounds for Mills. He suffered a season-ending knee injury during Notre Dame’s college football playoff run in 2024. It being his senior year, that game would be his final in the blue and gold.
“It’s just about resilience,” said Mills. “The biggest lesson was every day you got to attack it.”
Mills found great success at Notre Dame. He finished with the ninth most sacks in school history—17—was team captain his senior year, and was voted Second-Team All-American by ESPN.
“He comes to work every day,” said Aden Durde, Seahawks defensive coordinator. “He’s battled through a lot, and he has a bright future.”
What’s already happened won’t distract Mills. If his number is called on Sunday, he’ll be ready to go.
“You can’t really look back at the past or the future,” said Mills. “You have to stay in the moment.”
Erin Bruce, Amirah Curry and Jonah Decker are reporters for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news site powered by Franklin College journalism students.
