Super Bowl: Tampa man supporting friend, Eagles’ DeVonta Smith, in New Orleans
Mentor to Eagles' player heads to New Orleans
FOX 13's Ariel Plasencia talked with the Tampa Bay man about the rise to the NFL he has seen from Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith.
TAMPA, Fla. - A Tampa resident is in New Orleans to support his friend, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith, in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
The backstory:
Vincent Sanders is a barber, who’s originally from the same Louisiana town as Smith. He told FOX 13 that he started cutting Smith’s hair when the NFL wide receiver was in elementary school.
READ: Super Bowl 2025: All you need to know
"DeVonta is very particular about it, because, you know, he's clean cut," Sanders said.
According to Smith’s bio on the Eagles’ website, the wide receiver "credits much of his success to his barber, Vincent Sanders, "who became his mentor growing up" and "reinforced that football was meant to be a part of Smith's future and drove him to camps."
About five years ago, Sanders moved to Tampa to help run a gym called The Compound, which is where the Eagles’ wide receiver trains in the off-season, he added.
Local perspective:
On Friday, Smith posted a video to his Instagram, thanking Sanders for being an inspiration. He partnered with TCL and gifted Sanders a TCL 98" TV.
"Just wanted to express my gratitude and tell you how much I appreciate you," Smith said of Sanders in the video the wide receiver posted on social media Friday. "You've always inspired greatness in me. From the same hometown, you've been backing me since Day 1 from Alabama to Philly."
"He almost got me. He almost made me cry," Sanders said of the video and surprise gift. "Just for him to say that I inspired him to be great. You know, I tell him all the time, man, you inspire me!"
What's next:
You can watch Smith and his Eagles’ take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 2025 on FOX. Kickoff is 6:30 p.m.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered through an interview with Vincent Sanders as well as DeVonta Smith's bio on the Philadelphia Eagles' website as well as the wide receiver's Instagram.
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