West Lafayette, Purdue football standout George Karlaftis wins Super Bowl with Chiefs

GLENDALE, Arizona − George Karlaftis always has been driven by the motto "Prove them wrong."

He did it in high school, going from a freshman with the West Lafayette Red Devils who barely understood the game to the national defensive player of the year.

He did it down the street from his high school at Ross-Ade Stadium, becoming an All-American for the Purdue Boilermakers.

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And he did it Sunday when he stood on a confetti-covered State Farm Stadium field as a Super Bowl champion.

Karlaftis, a rookie defensive end for Kansas City, had two tackles in the Chiefs' 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

In high school, Karlaftis played in two Class 3A state championship games with West Lafayette, finishing runner-up to Chatard in 2015 and capping his career with an undefeated season after the Red Devils defeated Evansville Memorial in 2018.

With the Boilermakers, Karlaftis was a Freshman All-American in 2019, a second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2019 and '20 and first-team All-Big Ten in 2021.

After three seasons at Purdue, Karlaftis opted to enter the NFL draft and last April was drafted in the first round with the 30th overall pick by Kansas City, adding to the Chiefs' talented pass rushing group that includes Carlos Dunlap and Frank Clark.

With Karlaftis in the mix, Kansas City finished second in the NFL in total sacks. Karlaftis had six in the regular season and added another in the AFC Championship game victory over Cincinnati.