James Bradberry will represent Samford in football’s biggest game on Sunday, and the Philadelphia Eagles cornerback figures his time at the Birmingham school helped him reach Super Bowl LVII.

“I feel like playing at a smaller school is a little different than really going to a big Division I school,” Bradberry said on Wednesday. “I would say that I really formed a lot of great relationships that I have to this day going to a smaller school. I don’t know if that’d been the case at a bigger school or not. But I will say the level of competition really outside of the trenches was pretty equal. We had some athletes in the FCS level – receivers, DBs. We just didn’t really have a whole lot of depth on the O-line and D-line, and that’s when it came to the bigger schools, we kind of struggled.

“But for the most part, I enjoyed my career at Samford, and I would say it helped me tremendously really more so off the field. They preached a lot about academics at Samford. It was a very prestigious school, and the degree is really respected around the state and, really, in the U.S., so they really forced me to pick up good study habits and also hone in on my academics.”

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Bradberry will become the third Samford alumnus to play in the Super Bowl, following two other defensive backs – Cortland Finnegan and Jaquiski Tartt. Tartt preceded Bradberry as a second-round selection in the NFL Draft by one year.

“He was giving me advice, and I kind of saw from afar the process he was going through,” Bradberry said about his adjustment from Samford to the NFL. “And then my DB coach, Sam Shade, he played eight years in the league, so he was able to give me some advice.”

A former Pleasant Grove High School star, Bradberry became an immediate starter with the Carolina Panthers. After four seasons, he left in free agency for a three-year, $43.5 million contract with the New York Giants.

A Pro Bowl selection in his first season with the Giants, Bradberry never made it to the third season of his contract. Two months after the start of free agency, New York released Bradberry in May to cut $10.1 million off its salary-cap obligations for the 2022 season.

Philadelphia quickly signed Bradberry to a one-year, $7.25 million contract.

“Being in the position I was last year, I was uncertain about my future,” Bradberry said. “I didn’t know where I would be, what team I was going to be on and whatnot. And now, coming full circle, competing for the Super Bowl, it’s a great feeling. I’m pretty excited, and I just want to go out there and make the most out of the game, make the most out of every play.”

The Eagles will play the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII at 5:30 p.m. CST Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

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During the regular season, Kansas City scored more points than any other NFL team, and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is a finalist for The Associated Press’ NFL Most Valuable Player Award after leading the league in passing yards and touchdown passes.

“I think Pat Mahomes himself is going to be a problem,” Bradberry said. “You can say he’s the best quarterback in the league. He’s definitely up there. Us playing him, you really don’t see that week in and week out. You see NFL-caliber quarterbacks, but you don’t see a talent like him, so he poses his own obstacle that we got to overcome. …

“We definitely got our share of weapons on our side, too, and we’re confident in what we can do. We’re just waiting to go out there on Sunday and show it.”

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, a former Alabama standout, also is a finalist for the AP NFL MVP Award.

“When I signed with the Eagles, he was he first guy to text me,” Bradberry said. “… Naturally, as a quarterback of a team, we all look to you as the leader of the team because we come and go as you go. From Day 1 since I got here, I felt like he’s kind of commanded the room, and, of course, he’s earned that respect. But he’s a great guy. He always has the right thing to say. A great leader, so he naturally gets that from us because we respect him.”

Super Bowl LVII could be Bradberry’s final game with the Eagles. If Philadelphia doesn’t re-sign him in the next month, he’ll become a free agent again on March 15. The sports financial website spotrac.com pegs Bradberry’s market value at a three-year, $51.584 million contract after he earned second-team All-Pro recognition for the 2022 season.

“It worked out perfectly,” Bradberry said about being released by the Giants. “It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Of course at the time, I didn’t look at it like that. I was anxious, a little worried. But I just put my head down and worked. I figured it was going to work out itself.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.