One of the most unheralded New York Giants player helped the team win a Super Bowl. Nope, it's not who you think.

I don’t buy that nonsense about bulletin board material in locker rooms serving as motivation. If you do, you’ll likely presume this article’s title a sarcastic reference to a certain all-pro running back turned television commentator who, during his first telecast, decried his former team’s quarterback. We all know how that story happily ended.

But, I come to you today with much loftier aspirations.

Will the Real No. 21 Please Stand-Up: Reyna Thompson

In the afterglow of the weeks following the New York Giants defeat of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, I couldn’t help feeling that I needed to relive those glory years of Giants championships past.

Super Bowl XXV, in which New York beat the Buffalo Bills, in particular reverberated to me because, as in ‘08, the Giants were heavy underdogs, facing an opponent with a seemingly unstoppable offensive attack.

Both of the aforementioned Giants teams also featured a special teams player who was largely unheralded, despite the fact that both made it to a Pro Bowl.

In ‘08 it was David Tyree; in ‘90 it was no. 21, Reyna Thompson.

Reyna Thompson, Special Teams Player Extraordinaire

After clocking in at 13.4 seconds in the 110-meter high hurdles during his senior year in high school, Thompson enrolled at Baylor University on a track scholarship. He qualified for the ‘84 Olympic trials in the high hurdles, but was unable to compete because of a hamstring injury. He made the football team as a walk-on in his junior year and played corner back and safety and on special teams.

Thompson was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in ‘86. After three years in Miami, he played for the Giants for four seasons. Tim Rooney, the Giants’ director of pro personnel at the time, signed Thompson on the strength of watching one play on film. On that play Thompson ran from the far left side of the field to the far right side on a kickoff and tackled the return man.

During the season, Thompson would run from his apartment in Hackensack, NJ, to Giants Stadium and back—a distance of 18 miles—at least once a week. He also did hurdles in the off-season, because he believed it helped him maintain his speed and balance while being hit by opponents from all directions on kickoff and punt coverage.

Accolades for Reyna Thompson

His tremendous work ethic and drive made him a favorite of then Giants coach Bill Parcells. Which says a lot because Parcells is notorious for pushing his players hard.

The following is an excerpt from a New York Times feature on Thompson when he played for the Giants:

Three weeks ago, Bill Walsh, the former coach turned television analyst, asked Parcells for advice. Walsh wanted to know which Giants, aside from Lawrence Taylor and Phil Simms, he should focus on in the telecast of the game between the Giants and the Dolphins.

“I have this special teams player named Reyna Thompson,” Parcells said. The first time the Giants punted, an NBC camera was isolated on Thompson. He cut inside two would-be blockers and racked up the punt returner before he took a step.

The following week, John Madden, the former coach turned television analyst, was geared for a Giants’ punt. When it came, Thompson slipped past one blocker, then another and stopped the punt returner cold. Whereupon Madden called Thompson the best player he had ever seen running down to cover punts.

“He’s my kind of player,” said Madden, who likes his players tough.

Thompson was all-world linebacker Lawrence Taylor’s favorite teammate. The fans loved him as well. In a victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 16, 1990, the Giants faithful gave Thompson a standing ovation.

Thompson was a special-teams star, but he also did double duty, at one time starting at corner back when Mark Collins was on injured reserve.

Coach Joe Gibbs of the Washington Redskins said he had to put together game plans for Thompson.

“It’s amazing how a guy can line up in one of the most difficult assignments in football, get doubled every time and no one can stop him,” Gibbs said. “It’s a tribute to him that he can do it and still be a starter on defense.”

Gary Myers of the New York Daily News in a recent article selecting the Giants all-time Super Bowl team said of Thompson, “David Tyree is a magician on punt coverage but if you had to pick one, then Thompson was one of the best in NFL history running under kicks.”

“Special teams will probably always be made up of guys with one foot in the real world and the other in the insane asylum,” said Thompson. “But there is room for guys who aren’t like that. I don’t play with emotional peaks and valleys. I never said I wanted to be the best in the NFL. It was just my only opportunity on the field. I play the game for one reason—to make big plays.”