Mahomes, Hurts to make history as first Black QBs facing off in Super Bowl; local students react

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WISCONSIN (CBS 58) -- It'll be Patrick Mahomes' third Super Bowl appearance next month, but his first big game match-up against another Black quarterback. 

We spoke to some high school football players about it.

With the Eagles in the Super Bowl, Marshall High School Eagles say that's kind of cool, but more so this Super Bowl is inspiring football players here because they're finally seeing two Black quarterbacks in the championship.

"I'm going for the Eagles all the way," said Ezekiel Smith, Marshall High School junior and varsity football player.

It's one Eagle supporting another Eagle here in Milwaukee, but something is getting more talk on the Marshall High School campus than this.

Super Bowl 57's making history as Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts face off -- for the first time, the starting quarterbacks are African American. 

"It really motivated me to see someone like my skin tone go that far," said Theodore Alexander, Marshall HS junior and varsity football player.

Theodore Alexander's part of a winning team. In the most recent season, Marshall High School took Milwaukee's city conference championship, coached by Anthony Dowery. 

Dowery's happy for what he sees as a positive change in the NFL.

"You are seeing a lot more African American quarterbacks in general getting opportunities, which when I initially started, that's not how it was," said Anthony Dowery, Marshall High School football coach.

Twenty years ago, Black quarterbacks were few and far between. 

"Donovan McNabb, maybe Daunte Culpepper, all guys who were scramblers and guys who use their feet, and that's kind of what people thought of Black quarterbacks at that time," said Dowery.

Coach Dowery says back then, Black quarterbacks made it to the NFL on their athletic ability, but lacked quarterback training from an early age, something he says young players from more affluent areas were getting. 

"And a lot of our guys, especially in the city, they may not have access to those resources to go get quarterback training four times a week or whatever the case may be," said Dowery.

Dowery's hopeful that seeing Mahomes and Hurts leading their teams in Super Bowl 57 will not only inspire student athletes to press forward and become quarterbacks, but also that coaches will look to Black athletes to be their quarterbacks.

"It's most definitely gonna make me keep going. I feel like now that I'm seeing them, I feel like more Black people will more likely want to step their game up too," said Smith.

The big game is Feb. 12.

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