Ravens* *fans will see a number of familiar faces when they tune into Super Bowl LII between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles.
There are five former Ravens set to play in Sunday's game, and three of them hoisted the Lombardi Trophy with Baltimore during the 2012 season. The list includes wide receiver Torrey Smith, linebacker Dannell Ellerbe, defense back Corey Graham and defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan on the Eagles. The Patriots have defensive end Lawrence Guy.
Former Ravens scout Joe Douglas is also in Philadelphia as the Vice President of Player Personnel.
Here's a rundown of what those players have said during their media appearances this week.
WR Torrey Smith
"For me, this time around it's a lot sweeter," Smith said in an interview with WNST. "It's been a long journey to get back to this point. My career the last few years hasn't really gone the way I wanted it to go. To be in this position is special. I realized how hard it is to get back here.
"I would say that it relates to Baltimore in terms of the locker room being very close – nice veteran leaders and a nice mix of younger guys. Everyone works hard. From top to bottom, everyone is committed to winning. There are no egos. Everyone wants to go out there and fight towards one goal, which is to ultimately winning a Super Bowl. I knew as soon as I came here and saw as things were working that it felt kind of just like that, in my opinion. I think that Baltimore is obviously one of the best organizations in the league and Philadelphia is as well."
"There are a few [former Ravens] in there, and we can use our experiences from being there, now that there have been some years since that championship."
Year 2...Year 7 #blessed pic.twitter.com/aYeslEoLv2 — Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) January 31, 2018
DB Corey Graham
"When I went to Baltimore, my meeting with (John) Harbaugh when I signed with the Ravens was flat-out amazing," Graham said, via the Chicago Tribune. "He said, 'If you deserve to play, you'll play.' As a player, that is all you can ask for, a coach who is going to give a fair opportunity to play and I'm just so thankful that he was a man of his word. As soon as I signed there, I went and had a great camp.
"I never thought that I would have a chance to play in two Super Bowls or I would have a Pro Bowl or I would even play 11 years in the NFL, so it has just been an amazing ride. Even I didn't dream of all of this."
DE Lawrence Guy
"Every player in this league wants to make it to the Super Bowl," Guy said, via Scout.com. "Every year you try, you strive to make it to the Super Bowl. That's what you play for. You aren't even playing to keep a job, you're playing to win the game and go to the Super Bowl. And that's the way that I played every year — for that goal.
"Confetti is going to rain for one of us. Hopefully it's us. You just have to play your hardest and hopefully it turns out in your favor."
LB Dannell Ellerbe
"It got stressful at times, because I took myself totally away from the game," Ellerbe told the New Orleans Advocate when asked about spending the first two months of the 2017 season out of football. "I didn't watch the teams, I didn't do any of that, I just focused on getting my body right."
"You're so focused that you don't worry about all that," Ellerbe told the New Haven Register when asked about the Super Bowl halftime show. "But we did want to see Beyoncé [at Super Bowl XLVII]."
DT Timmy Jernigan
The 2014 second-round pick hasn't talked with the media this week because he is battling an illness. He missed practice Wednesday and Thursday, and Eagles Head Coach Doug Pederson described the sickness as a "24-hour deal."
Joe Douglas, Eagles VP of Player Personnel
Douglas will reportedly remain with the Eagles despite getting interest from other teams as a general manager candidate.
"I think everybody in this position is confident in their abilities. But I couldn't be happier," Douglas told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "It's flattering, but at the end of the day, your name is getting out there because of guys like Carson Wentz and Lane Johnson," Douglas said. "It's the players. It's the team. Tom Brady, Ray Lewis, Peyton Manning – they made a lot of coaches a lot of money."
From Eagles wide receiver Torrey Smith to Patriots defensive end Lawrence Guy, there are nearly a dozen Ravens connections in Sundayâs big game.